ident DR. MARY C. FINGER SETON HILL UNIVERSITY As a graduate of a Catholic liberal arts college, I understand the significant impact an education rooted in service has on one’s life. With service as one of the pillars of the Seton Hill University mission, students are encouraged to participate in an array of volunteer opportunities that enhance their liberal arts education. Seton Hill students help feed families here in Westmoreland County, build houses in North Carolina, and provide medical care to vulnerable populations abroad. Our students’ service activities and their liberal arts curriculum inform their worldview and prepare them to think, write, and speak critically, and be quick to adapt to a global marketplace. Seton Hill prepares students not just for their first job, but for their career through service, internships, and other endeavors that enhance their academic experiences and fully ready them for life after college. And with 40 percent of Seton Hill students studying in the natural and health sciences, the University is making a tremendous impact in educating the health care professionals and researchers of the future who will make a difference in people’s lives. The Seton Hill commitment to serving others is an extraordinary one that makes our students better.
DR. TORI HARING-SMITH WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE At Washington & Jefferson College (W&J), we invite our students to “Be a President,” and one essential characteristic of being a president is giving back to the community—a trait that is particularly important to me because of the impact that dedication to my community has had on my life. Ever since I was young, I have received great satisfaction from volunteering at animal shelters. I especially enjoy working with cats with special needs—cats who are blind and deaf, who have missing limbs, who have been abused or who suffer from a variety of chronic illnesses. I am continually buoyed by the improvement I see in my “clients” and by their indomitable spirit. Animals may not be able to speak to us in our language, but they have myriad other ways to say, “thank you.” At W&J, our students embrace this same commitment wholeheartedly; our student body contributed more than 15,000 hours in community service this past fall semester alone. I truly enjoy working with them on fundraisers for groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters or wielding a hammer next to them as we complete the walls in a Habitat for Humanity house. Our college community is strong because we enjoy working together for the common good.
DR. CHRISTOPHER HOWARD ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY When I was a freshman at the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1988, the entire freshman class volunteered with the Special Olympics, acting as coaches and managers for all the athletes, who also lived with us on campus. I remember a little kid named Christian, one of the Olympians, because I just recently found the coffee mug he gave me. He was the sweetest kid in the world. That was the most awesome three or four days ever. He competed in track and field, and I always think about him when I hear about the Special Olympics. If he had said he wanted to go to the moon, I’d tell you that you were lying if you said he couldn’t do it. At the Air Force Academy, all the cadets are world-beaters, very much into physical fitness, as you can imagine. But those Olympians, who are all differently abled, were the real superstars. The mug Christian gave me is a little beat up now, but I’ll never get rid of it.
25 ideapod // SPRING 2016