Holiday Blessings

One year ago I was starting off my Christmas Break in Portland, Oregon. I had just made it home in time to miss a huge arctic blast that prevented many home-bound college students to making it home earlier than anticipated for the holidays. My dad and I were bored at home and unable to drive anywhere, so we took a walk in the snow up to a neighborhood bar about a mile away from our house. We were catching up over some beers and my dad was talking about how excited he was to see where my life was going to take me in the next year. At the time I was concentrated on starting my career right out of college. I couldn't wait the adventure to begin.

Both of my parents are former Jesuit Volunteers and were placed in the same community in a small village in Alaska. I had always been aware of the program but I wasn't sure if it were my calling or not. My college friend Jack was in the process of applying for the JVC. I was excited to hear about him applying; excited enough that I ended up starting the application myself. It felt like the right decision. When I got my placement and committed, it felt even better.

Now here I am, working as a high school program instructor at For Love of Children, helping inner city students reach their full potential in their education. I am amazed at the generosity of the staff who work here and the generous donors that allow us to keep our mission going.

I'm very grateful for the company of my fellow Jesuit Volunteers and the strong community that I live in. We've experienced many memorable moments, from orientation at Blue Ridge; to a wacky 10 hour Halloween party in Newark; Cheese Steaks and the Christmas Party in Philadelphia; meeting vice president Joe Biden, rodent sightings in our house; late night talks, delicious meals, birthday celebrations and lots of laughs.

I look forward to many more great memories in the new year. I return home for the holidays this Friday. Merry Christmas.

The vice president, news anchor contribute to the JVC

The Jesuit Volunteer Corps held a fundraiser Wednesday evening at St. Francis Hall in Washington, DC.

The JV's were invited to represent their placements. The invitation included the special guest, Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Hardball, who was invited to deliver a talk on service. Chris served in the PeaceCorps before entering his career in politics and news. Chris' wife, Kathleen, is a former news anchor and now executive at Marriott was also attending.

The evening was getting started as expected. As we were getting instructions on how to volunteer at the event, JVC's development manager announces to us that Vice President Joe Biden would be making an appearance. Biden entered the room with grace, shaking everyone's hand, smiling and speaking with everyone that approached him. He was gracious to the JV's and our support people. He spoke on stage with his son, Hunter, who served in JVC Northwest in my hometown, Portland, Ore.

It was quite a thrill that evening. The JV's and I will be recalling that evening for a long time.

A Nor'easter Storm?

"A Nor'easter storm? What's that?" Asked my community member Andrew last night at dinner. He and I are the only two community members in our house from the west coast. He had heard the term a 'nor'easter storm' on the news yesterday. Our Scranton, Penn. native housemate Lauren informed us that it means a large storm of winds coming from the North and heading down the Atlantic.

A storm is heading south, and it's a wet and windy morning in our nations capital. I try to ride my bike to work at least four times a week and because of the Oregon-like weather, this morning was one of the more difficult ones I've had since living here. It's about 1.5 miles from our JVC community house to my work, so a 10-minute ride or a 25 minute walk. DC is an easy place to commute by bike. I'll admit the first time I started riding in traffic I was a little scared, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. It's good exercise, allows one to get somewhere relatively quickly, and saves time and money from taking the Metro or a bus.

Last weekend my sister Maggie, who lives in Portland, made a visit to Washington, DC. It was a mini college reunion for her, she was meeting up with two of her friends in DC and also spending time with our brother Brian and I. We had lot's of fun together, including a wonderful Sunday night dinner with my JVC community. On Monday I showed Maggie my placement and we had breakfast in Adams Morgan. After I got off work we met up for dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. (If you have not had Ethiopian food I highly recommend it).

It's fun living and working in such a fun city that people love to visit. I can't believe that we are nearing mid-November. Thanksgiving is just two weeks away!

Visit to the Big Apple

There are a lot of great things about being a Jesuit Volunteer. But the one that stands out the most to me is the rich community I became apart our orientation in August. This weekend I traveled to New York City and visited the communities in Brooklyn and West Harlem. Friday morning I departed from Washington DC on the Megabus and around noon arrived in mid-town Manhattan. I'm familiar with the area from when I participated in an internship there during the summer of 2008.

My friend Delphine, a JV in Brooklyn, met me in Manhattan where we spent the afternoon. I took the opportunity to re-visit the staff I interned for at Fox News Channel. I interned for the business news program, "Your World w/ Neil Cavuto." I had such a positive experience interning for that staff I could not wait to return and visit with them. It was fun to return to the energy of a busy newsroom and see many of my mentors. I speak often of my experience in NY and of my internship and when we were leaving the News Corp building, Delphine said , "Now I know why you speak of this place so often." I loved my experience in television news, and after my year of serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps I plan on returning in either the capacity of either producing or reporting, or both.

Reconnecting with the Brookyln and Harlem JV's was a blast. Friday evening we went out to a fun bar in Williamsburg, Brookyln. We finished the evening eating some delicious gyros bought streetside. The next day we were tourists and walked through Central Park and Greenwich Village. In the pouring rain we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and made plans to meet up that evening with Jesuit Volunteers visiting the city from Newark. It was a whirlwind of a weekend and Sunday afternoon I returned to my community in Washington. Last night our community had two of our JV support people and Jesuit liason over for an incredible dinner prepared by our Italian cuisine queen Laura.

The start to a new week begins today - countdown to Halloween: 5 days!

Friends, Ben's Chili, Family, Rally

Last week was busy at Ramos House (my JV community house). Our program coordinator from the Jesuit Volunteer Corps spent the week living in our community. It gives her the opportunity to observe our daily interaction, eat meals with us, participate in spirituality night, visit our placements, and give us feedback on our community life.

The week was also busy for me with many visitors from out of town. My friend Blake came into Washington DC to spend the week with me and my brother Brian. Thursday my older brother Tommy arrived from Portland. He lived here for five years when we was attending Georgetown, so he enjoyed the weekend seeing Brian and I and several of his college friends who still live in the area. Friday my friends Delphine and Nick arrived who are serving the year as JV's in Brooklyn and Harlem. That Friday afternoon I played the role of tour guide. In the evening we went up to Georgetown to celebrate Brian's birthday.

On Saturday the JV's and my friends from out of town were fortunate enough to get a special tour of the Capitol. It was an amazing site, and in the near future I hope to sit in a session in progress. After the tour we made our way to Ben's Chili Bowl. This restaurant is just a couple of miles away from our house and is famous for being the only restaurant on it's street to survive and stay open during the 1968 race riots following the assasination of Martin Luther King. The walls are covered by many famous people who have visited the restaurant, including Hillary Clinton, Bill Cosby, and President Obama. The founder of the restaurant, Ben Ali, died less than a week ago.

On Sunday my housemates and I attended the annual Equality March and Rally infront of the Capitol where over 100,000 people marched for equal marriage and military rights. That day Blake, Delphine, Nick, and Tommy left town. It was a perfect weekend and I'm very grateful for their visits to Washington. My Jesuit Community and I always enjoy having guests and love to cook, so if you're ever in Washington don't hesitate to call on us.

Continually Grateful

Last weekend the southern-half of the communities in JVC East gathered for our October weekend retreat. Communities from Raleigh, Washington DC, Baltimore, Camden, Newark, and Philadelphia met in Upper Marlboro, Maryland (about 45 minutes from Washington) to spend four days together getting reacquainted on the mission of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. It was time for our community to reflect and check on how the past several weeks have progressed. We also broke into our Apostolate groups where we had discussions with other JV's who are working in similar placements. The weekend was very relaxing and offered some much needed time to revisit my personal mission of why I am a Jesuit Volunteer.

This week our program coordinator from the JVC is spending the week with us to observe our placements and community life. My college and hometown friend Blake is visiting Washington this week on his fall break; also coming this weekend are my brother Tommy and two friends from New York. It's going to be an active week and I am continually grateful for my experience in Washington as a Jesuit Volunteer.

Weekend Away

This week concludes my second week of teaching evening courses for FLOC's educational guidance and advocacy program. I'm still learning the students names, getting used to preparing curriculum, and getting comfortable approaching the students. The week's sophomore workshop was based on creating career goals, and how much higher education influences our ability to reach them. Our junior class has been taking practice ACT and SAT exams. Our program requires the junior students to take at least two practice exams of each. We also offer up to two vouchers to students who financially would not otherwise be able to register for the exams.

Last week I went to a local high school in Washington to present some recruitment materials on our programs. The school was like something I have never seen before, with metal detectors at the doors and a place to X-ray peoples belonging as if I were getting inspected by the TSA. But if that's what it takes to keep the students safe, then I guess it is necessary.

Last weekend my little brother Brian rode a bike down to my neighborhood and we watched the Notre Dame-Michigan State game at a friends house. Happy to report the Irish beat Michigan State 33-30. The first win again Michigan State at Notre Dame stadium since 1993. That night Brian had dinner with my community, and we went out in Georgetown. It was an active weekend, and unfortunately ended with my community member Rachel being take into the hospital. She was experiencing some chest pains due to a collapsed lung. We're happy to report that her procedure was successful and she came home on Wednesday.

This weekend I am traveling with my placement to West Virginia, where we are taking our senior class on retreat to some property that FLOC owns. I'm looking forward to this opportunitiy to see some new territory, meet some new students, and relax out of the city for a couple of days.

First day teaching workshop, biking in DC

Hello everyone on this Wednesday morning. There's a new vibe in the building this week as students have started pouring in for our weekly workshops. The freshman and sophomore classes started last Monday. Many sophomore students returning to the program, others new getting oriented with FLOC and the educational guidance and advocacy program. Monday was a typical first day, consisting of games getting to know one another, going over course expectations, and incident scenarios with the students. This Thursday the junior class starts workshop; they will be taking a practice SAT exam...flashback five years ago when I was in their shoes.

Last week my community member Andrew graciously tuned up some of the bikes we inherited with our house. DC is an easy city to commute by bike because of the few hills that are in the city. I've never biked before in a large city, so the first time out the traffic can be a little intimidating, but it's safer than riding on the sidewalk. I've loved it so far. It's amazing how much less time I need to allow to get to work by biking. The DC Metro doesn't go up to Georgetown, and by bike I can get there in about 30 minutes. I'm hoping this is a good way to get around for the rest of the year. We'll see come January.

Tomorrow I am traveling to a local high school to work on recruitment for our high school program, also seeking volunteers for our Neighborhood Tutoring Program. I'm looking forward to geting out into the community and telling more about what we do at FLOC.

Labor Day Weekend

I'm back at work after enjoying a long weekend. Friday was taken off as a personal day because of the long hours of training my co-workers and I have been putting in getting ready for the new school year. I took Friday to take care of some personal things, such as paying our house rent and walking a few miles to our landlords house to assure it gets there safely, as oppose to the mail which may have resulted in a hefty late fee. My friend Kristina and I also took the morning to do some sightseeing. We took the Metro to Arlington National Cemetery. I had been there eight years ago. It was a moving experience, as Sen. Ted Kennedy had been laid to rest there just one week earlier. There is a lot of rich tradition at Arlington, we also witnessed three funeral processions taking place in the two hours we were there. We walked from Arlington over the Potomac, across southwest DC into Dupont Circle. A lot of walking that afternoon but well worth it.

Friday night I enjoyed a night out in Georgetown with my little brother Brian who recently started his sophomore year up there.

The great thing about being a Jesuit Volunteer is the strong connection among the other JV's in our east region. Throughout the year, each JV community takes turns hosting a holiday party. Baltimore hosted the Labor Day party and had a very impressive turnout. It was fun catching up with everyone that we had not seen since Orientation. The 50 of 60-some of us all crashed on the floor on sleeping bags, getting a solid four or five hours of sleep.

Now I'm back at work, getting ready for a busy four-day week. A lot of meetings and training ahead. The students' first day is Monday, Sept. 14.

First Week at FLOC and DC Weekend

My short week at FLOC ended well. I am still in orientation, learning the insides of curriculum planning for the school year. I have looked thoroughly through the lesson plans, and I'm excited about everything that I get to teach - a large gamut ranging from career exploration to personal finance. Next week my colleague and I will receive some training on how to be a disciplinarian. Luckily the program coordinators will handle the bulk of that responsibility. I'm very impressed with the mission of my placement and my hope is that I can help it succeed as much as possible.

On Friday my housemates and I did our first major grocery shopping. For the five of us, our budget allows us to spend 93 dollars a week on food. We were proud of ourselves, we left the Giant (east coast chain) grocery store spending only 59 dollars. We held off buying our produce items, we're hoping to do as much shopping as possible at local farmers markets and a co-op near by.

Friday night my housemates and I got invited to a rooftop party in Adam Morgan. I was blown away with the view of the city, including Capitol Hill in the distance. Saturday included a lot of walking in the Dupont Circle with some Jesuit Volunteers from the other DC house. Later in the day, a former JV invited us to his pool party in the Silver Spring area of DC. Today, just relaxing with a cup of coffee. Tonight my community and I are attending Mass at Georgetown and visiting my little brother Brian who will be starting his sophomore year of college up there on Monday.

I've never had a September begin without anticipation of sitting in a classroom. Now I get to be in the class but in a new way.

My JVC Placement: Day 1

I had an excellent first day at my placement. FLOC gave me a great orientation, lots of time meeting with the executive director, program coordinators, and my new colleague, a Lutheran Volunteer who is also from the Portland area. Kristina and I are both the high school program instructors for FLOC. She is teaching the freshman seminars. I'll be teaching the sophomores and we are co-teaching the junior classes. All grade levels pertain to students pursuing post-secondary education. The day went by quickly, and the program even took Kristina and I out for lunch in Adams Morgan. The program for students starts on September 14. But until then we are busy with lesson plans and finishing up our training for the school year.

It was great coming home tonight to my housemates and talking about our days' over dinner. After dinner, we went over to the other JVC house and had a community night with some former JVs. I'm looking forward to my upcoming year with FLOC and my experience with the JVC.

Information on FLOC:

http://flocdc.org/

Columbia Heights (area where we live):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Heights,_Washington,_D.C.

Adams Morgan (area where I work):
http://http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams_Morgan,_Washington,_D.C.

Anticipation for my First Day

I start my placement with FLOC tomorrow. My hours will be typically 10 am - 6 pm, later than most since much of the work is directly with students at the end of a normal school day.

Today I took care of some last minute things before I get started with work. My shipped boxes from Oregon finally arrived today. I also got some time to take care of some things around the house. One of my community members, Lauren, starts her placement tomorrow as well. Our three other housemates were at work, so in the middle of the afternoon we popped in on Laura and Andrew on the job. The two of them work just around the block from my placement in Adams Morgan.

Tonight, a former Jesuit Volunteer is taking our house on a tour of the lit monuments around the National Mall. I'll report back tomorrow how my first day of work goes.

Retreat and Local Orientation

Retreat/Orientation:

I departed Portland the evening on August 12. My family and I went through the expected loss of my grandfather just two days prior to my leaving. I unfortunately had to miss the funeral and other festivities that week, but my family was very supportive of me going on with my original plan to get started with the JVC.

Orientation started the morning of August 13, when I met up with several other Jesuit Volunteers who flew into Baltimore airport. From Baltimore we traveled by bus to Blue Ridge, Penn. to Ballarmine Retreat Center. There were a total of 89 Jesuit Volunteers participating in the East region of the JVC this year.

The retreat/orientation lasted five nights. It was an incredible experience being among 88 other recent college graduates who are participating in a year of service. The 89 of us quickly became good friends, sharing meals, some small group time, attending Mass, and learning about the JVC values which we will be experiencing over the next year: Simple living, social justice, community, and spirituality.

At the end of the week at orientation, the 14 different communities packed up our cars and headed to our different cities on the east coast, but not before sharing cell phone numbers and making plans to visit the different communities on the east coast throughout the year.

Local Orientation:

My four community members and I drove from Blue Ridge, Penn. to Washington DC on Tuesday, August 18. It was a quick drive, just over an hour, to DC. We are living in a townhouse in NW DC, about three miles from the National Mall. My communitiy members consist of Laura and Lauren from Scranton, Penn.;Rachel from North Carolina, and Andrew, a second-year JV, from San Diego. We all have very different placements ranging from employment placement to hospice care. Last week, we were able to tour all of our placements and meet our supervisors. This year, there is a second JV community in Washington DC about one mile from our neighborhood.

The great thing about the JVC are the strong ties among former JV's that remain involved with the program. There are several that live in the Washington DC area and met us for some beers at a local neighborhood bar. Because we are JV's living on a small stipend, none of us had to pay for a single drink the entire night!

Every night a different house member takes turns cooking dinner. Once a week we have a spirituality and community night which gives us a chance to spend time together and check in on our experiences at JVs. We are enjoying each other's company and adjusting well to our new city and community. My job at FLOC starts this Wednesday.

Less Than One Month

I wanted to document my experience as a Jesuit Volunteer and keep family and friends updated throughout my journey. So I thought starting a blog would be the most efficient way to go.

Where am I volunteering and what will I be doing? I've been placed in Washington DC and I will be volunteering with a youth advocacy and education program titled For Love of Children (FLOC). With FLOC I will be working as a high school program instructor where I will be working with students to ensure that they make plans for life after high school that suit them best. I will be teaching high school students weekly sessions that will include service learning, career exploration, SAT and ACT preparation. I will also assist with college campus visits and college fairs, financial aid workshops and scholarship coaching.

Departure: On Tuesday, August 12, I will be flying the red-eye to Baltimore, Md. There I will be up with other Jesuit Volunteers at the Baltimore airport. We will all travel together to Bellarmine Retreat Center in Pennsylvania. The following week, myself and the other 90-some volunteers will travel to our assigned cities for our placements among our communities. My job will start on August 24.

I will continue to keep you posted on my anticipation before I leave for the JVC.