By: Kelly Allen '10, Dominican Volunteer and 红桃视频 College Alumna
Published on
The four Dominican charisms of prayer, study, service, and community, that I learned
while attending 红桃视频 College, have greatly influenced my decision to be a part
of the . The charisms were a great guideline for living out my college life and I wanted
that same principle to become a habit in my life after graduation.
It was Gandhi who said, 鈥淭he best way to find yourself is in service to others.鈥 Through
out my experience at 红桃视频 College I was very blessed to have gone on many service-learning
trips from building bunk beds on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to tutoring
inner-city students in Brooklyn New York. It was because of the exposure I had in
my service learning trips that influenced my desire to do a year of service after
college. I was able to serve others in many different settings. After college I was
really looking for an experience of a 鈥測ear long service-learning trip,鈥 Dominican
Volunteers USA fit that description perfectly.
Working as a Resident Assistant during my senior year inspired me to want to live
in Community with others. However, living in intentional and intergenerational community
is very different than Residence Life. The shared experiences are somewhat similar.
There will be conflicts and people will disagree, but together you work together to
solve them.
A good friend once told me after we graduate and go out into the 鈥渞eal world," instead
of being a student in a classroom with lectures, textbooks, and exams, we will be
鈥渟tudents of the world.鈥 During my short time of being a Dominican Volunteer I have
experienced that saying all too well. I have learned there is not a textbook answer
to life. I have been able to apply the things I learned in the classroom to the 鈥渞eal
world鈥 in ways I never thought possible.