Lasting Impressions

By Jill Kasiewicz Caseria, M.A. '04

New research conducted by Dr. Kurt Schlichting '70, professor of sociology and anthropology at Fairfield, has helped quantify the influence of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (and by inference, other post graduation service programs) on the lives of participants and their potential impact on the communities in which they live and work. What follows are three profiles that illustrate what the "numbers" confirm.

Maura Coakley '81: weaving service into life

Maura Coakley's year in Chicago with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) certainly opened her eyes in a way she wasn't expecting. "I was quickly made aware of things I had only read about in the newspaper, especially homelessness and the reality of how terrible that is," she admits. Due to graduate in 1981's poor economy, the English major was unsure of her career goals and followed up on the suggestion of a campus minister. Coakley worked for Voice of the People, a nonprofit that renovated crumbling buildings, most of which had fallen victim to arson, by developing the skills of a trade in city youth through a related training program. Once completed, the houses were rented to low-income families who formed tenant groups and managed the buildings co-op style. Her afternoons were spent volunteering at St. Thomas soup kitchen, Sara's Circle Drop-in Center for homeless women, and teaching GED classes.

"It was a good year, but a tough year emotionally," says Coakley. The stress of living in a poor neighborhood with homeless people on practically every corner didn't make it easy for her to adjust. "It took me a while to accept the choice I made. I was homesick at the start of the year." Eventually, she realized the importance of her choice. "I came to understand the value of living the Jesuit tradition in the spirit of service," she says, "and it felt good to know that I was giving something back."

Today, equipped with a master's degree in communication, she is director of business development for e-Dialog in Massachusetts, participates in Boston-area alumni endeavors, and does volunteer work when she can. "I consider myself lucky to have gotten to know so many socially conscious Jesuits and nuns," she says. "The JVC experience changed my view of what it means to be a Catholic," she says, "and my outlook on the world."

Rob McCann '91: choosing to live simply

Rob McCann knows he's never had it so good, being malaria-free for nearly five years now. After being on the road - or, more accurately, on just about every continent and contracting malaria and other diseases multiple times - he's now in Spokane, Wash., working as executive director of Catholic Charities.

From 1996 to 2000, McCann visited nearly 40 of the world's poorest and war-torn countries for CRS, evaluating refugee camps and other disaster relief and development projects. In 2000, he returned to the West Coast to finish his Ph.D. in leadership studies at Gonzaga University and met his wife, Rachael. Today, he oversees 11 Catholic Charities agencies, heading the homeless shelters and family programs for the elderly, children, and the disabled.

A yearlong stint with JVC following graduation set McCann up for what has become a commitment to serving the common good. With JVC, he worked in Woodburn, Ore., with kids in gangs and with migrant workers. Afterwards, he participated in a one-year JVC pilot project in Mexico where he assisted Jesuits with a community outreach clinic that provided food and medicine to populations in outlying villages.

His choice to join JVC traces back to his experience as a Mission Volunteer to Ecuador with Campus Ministry. "That trip changed my life more than anything," he says. "I switched my career path from working toward a law degree like all of my other siblings, to applying to JVC. It just felt right to work with people who were vulnerable and in need."

Working for a nonprofit is hardly lucrative, yet Rob and Rachael, who teaches in a Catholic school, have decided that's OK. "We've learned to live simply, a philosophy that began for me when I was in JVC. It's enjoyable if you can embrace it." Yes, funds are tight, and he admits to sometimes living paycheck-to-paycheck, but the emotional rewards of his lifestyle outweigh the material ones a different career could have brought. "For me, it's a quality-of-life issue. I get to spend more time with my wife and newborn son than other career paths allow. And although it may not pay all the bills, each evening I can say that I helped someone today. To me, that's worth its weight in gold!"

Richard Crowell '81: passing on values

When Richard Crowell spent a year in JVC after graduation, the biology major never thought he would be canvassing neighborhood butcher shops for hearts and other animal organs that his seventh grade students could study and dissect. But teaching at Dolores Mission School in East Los Angeles required a certain creativity when it came to securing school supplies.

Teaching in the poor neighborhood opened Crowell's eyes to experiences different from any he had encountered growing up in Needham, Mass., a suburb of Boston. "I'm not sure who the surroundings were tougher on, me or the kids," he says, recalling how few male role models the students had at the school run by a religious order of nuns.

"I was younger - and male - and the boys looked at me with a different perspective," he says. "They experienced things daily that I didn't pick up on right away. Some were abused, but the signs weren't evident to me until I had been there for a while." Taking them sledding and snowboarding in the surrounding mountains was one way he tried to give them a break from their intense environment.

During that year, Crowell lived in South Central Los Angeles with five other JVC volunteers. Family and friends who came to visit were amazed by their affable relations with homeless people. "My friends couldn't believe we knew them," he says. Spending time at homeless shelters would become a regular activity for Crowell once he met his wife-to-be, Deirdre, a JVC volunteer in Santa Monica. A Holy Cross graduate, she had Friday night duties at Turning Point Shelter and Crowell often worked the shift with her.

Today a doctor of veterinary medicine in Medfield, Mass., he says the experience changed his and Deirdre's life - a hoped-for outcome of the JVC program. "JVC completely changes your perspective on the world, the goals you set for yourself, and how you want to live your life," he says. He, Deirdre, and their children - Annemarie, 13; Claire, 10; Matthew, 8; and Grace, 6 - volunteer at local soup kitchens and help with clothing drives at their church. "We want to give our kids a perspective on how good they have it," he says, "and pass on the values that have shaped our lives."