Learn more at sandiego.edu/u3a.
[faith in action]
EMPATHY IS SERVED Student outreach meets people where they live
NICK ABIDILLA
Program highlights include field trips to interesting places, such as a tour of the San Diego Repertory Theatre, an excursion to the tarmac at San Diego’s airport and a behind-the-scenes visit to an operating room in a Mercy hospital ship docked at the San Diego harbor. Waterhouse takes care to keep offerings fresh — topics and speakers tend not to repeat. “I love to challenge each session with new topics and information that attendees might not otherwise seek out on their own,” says Waterhouse. It’s not uncommon for participants to learn about things on the leading edge. “In our household, we have what’s called the ‘U3A effect,’” Hodik says. “Oftentimes, within a month or two of the speakers you’ve heard at U3A, you’ll see them in news headlines.” As a regular attendee with 25 sessions under her belt, she says she’s saved all of the folders of information from past years, going back to refer to useful tidbits on a regular basis. “This is an important program,” says Agnes West-Kohler, a 1965 graduate of the San Diego College for Women and a U3A attendee for six years. “There are so few opportunities for seniors to gather and listen to marvelous speakers who are interested in us and interested in telling this population what they’re doing and what they’re contributing to San Diego.” Hodick, too, finds tremendous value in the sessions. “Those of us who come here regularly travel, volunteer and work out, but we put all of that aside twice a year,” she says. “We don’t make travel plans in January or June because we know we’re coming to U3A. It’s already written on our calendars. This has become our university of choice.”
by Allyson Meyer ‘16 t’s afternoon as students enter a small USD apartment. There they begin a monthly ritual — preparing dinner for 20. Tonight, it’s taco salad. Tasks are delegated and the smell of sautéed turkey spreads throughout the building. This evening, University Ministry staff members will drive students to Rachel’s Night Shelter, a residence for homeless women, where they’ll eat in communion with the residents. “It’s an immersive experience,” says sophomore Eric Hanson. “It breaks down borders and walls. You’re able to meet people where they are.” The outreach program is only a few years old. Each month, resident ministers take students to the nearby shelter, introducing them to lives and experiences that are very different than their own.
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It’s not long before vans pull up in front of a nondescript building with large windows that let in waning sunshine. The students unpack, talking with the women and sharing anecdotes about one another’s lives. By 5:30, it’s time for dinner. After a student-led prayer, the women line up, as students serve up warm comfort food. “It’s about being with them, in solidarity, and having a kinship. Meals are a sacred experience. We sit with them and listen to their stories,” says Charlotte Coe, the resident minister who leads the group on this particular evening. “Catholic Social Teaching emphasizes a special focus on those who are marginalized. It’s about bringing them in from the margins.” One large family-style table dominates the room. Laughter
and conversation fills the area as the dinner companions — students and residents side by side — swap stories and connect over shared interests, life experiences and a good meal. The food helps to break down barriers; nervousness dissipates as students and residents find camaraderie in their shared encounter. It’s nearly seven o’clock. Hugs are exchanged as the students say good night. They climb back into vans and, before long, arrive back on campus and head to the small apartment where they began several hours earlier. There the group reflects on their experiences and then scatter, acutely aware of the privilege of being part of an event that was about far more than just dinner. sandiego.edu/nightshelter. SUM M ER 2 0 1 8
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