Welcome to Fresh@News, Villanova's e-mail newsletter for parents
and friends of the class of 2013. Over the year we will be sending you occasional
postings about activities at Villanova University that relate the Class of
2013. Instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe from this service are
given at the end of this posting.
__________________________________________________________________
This week Fresh@News is talking to Paul Pugh, Dean of Students, and Christine Quisenberry, Assistant to the
President for Events, about two interesting events coming up this week.
Fresh@News : It has been a busy week for the
class of 2013, so I thought the two of you could help tell us about House Calls
and the St. Thomas of Villanova Celebration. Let’s start with House
Calls. Dean Pugh, you coordinate this event, can you tell us a little
about it?
Dean Paul Pugh: Each fall, the Dean of Students office picks an
evening when teams of faculty members, coaches, campus ministers, and
administrators visit EVERY freshman residence hall room. We call it
“House Calls” and this year it will be on Wednesday, September 16th.
Teams will also meet with commuting students this week.
Fresh@News : So what actually happens?
Dean Paul Pugh: We go to the halls in teams of two and are
assigned to an area or floor in one of the residence halls. We knock on the
students’ door, and if they are in (they were all told we were coming),
we sit down and talk to them for five minutes or so, just to assess how they
were doing after a few weeks of college.
Fresh@News : And what are some of the
conversations like?
Dean Paul Pugh: Typically, most of what we hear was very
positive. The students we met with last year said they had made some good
connections with other students in the hall, were getting into the rhythm of
classes, and were exploring or already involved in some activities. We
hear some common concerns about buildings without air conditioners, or students
who are not too crazy about the bathrooms. But most of what our teams
hear is encouraging. Sometimes a team will pick up on some more serious
issues and those concerns are referred to the appropriate person or office for
follow up, and, of course, it is important just to let the students know that
we care about how they are doing.
Fresh@News : It sounds like the faculty and staff
really enjoy the program.
Dean Paul Pugh: Actually, I think the faculty and staff enjoy
House Calls as much as the students do. In one of his books about
teaching, St. Augustine reminds us that an effective teacher must understand
who the students are, and what their backgrounds and interests are.
Visiting students in their rooms, seeing how they live, and hearing about their
lives really helps us know them better. The connections made that night
are important on many levels, specifically the outreach to the students and the
communication between the students and the faculty/staff teams.
Fresh@News : Thanks Dean Pugh, and now
let’s turn to Chrissy Quisenberry. Can you tell us about the Day of
Service that is part of the St. Thomas of Villanova Celebration? It
sounds like another important event for the class of 2013, as well as for the
whole Villanova community.
Chrissy Quisenberry: Actually, the Day of Service is on Saturday,
September 19, and as you point out, involves a large number of Villanova
community members. This is our 4th year coordinating this
event and each year the committee works hard to coordinate those participants
at over 100 sites.
Fresh@News : That sounds great. And what did the
Day of Service entail?
Chrissy Quisenberry: On Saturday, over 3,000 members of our community
participated in the Day of Service. Faculty, staff and students gathered in the
Pavilion early on Saturday morning. There is always a lot of excitement in the
room even at 8:30 in the morning! A few short talks set the tone for the
day. I particularly remember from the 2008 Day of Service, the words of
Joe Bob Gonzalez, a student from the Brownsville, Texas area, who talked about
one of his early service experiences. He was helping two young kids with
reading, and was working on simple one-syllable words like
“bed.” He said to the boys, “You know this one, it is
where you sleep.” When boys said, “Yes, but we don’t
sleep on a bed, we sleep on the floor.” This experience really helped the
student understand that service is not just about helping others, but about
learning about the world we live in and the need for change. Before
everyone leaves for the day of service, the President, Rev. Peter M. Donohue,
O.S.A., gives a blessing, and we start the process of loading around 100 buses
and vans to get the day underway.
Fresh@News : So where did the students go for
their service?
Chrissy Quisenberry: The students go to various sites throughout
Philadelphia serving the needs of the community through the help of local
organizations. The entire program is a wonderful testament to the life of St.
Thomas of Villanova, who spent his life serving the poor. The buses and vans
return to campus in the late afternoon, just in time for all of us to enjoy a
wonderful community Liturgy and dinner in the Pavilion. The students look tired
and dirty at the end of the day, after their experiences with painting,
cleaning, and a variety of other activities, but many know that they had both
accomplished something and also had some real learning. Our Dining Services
staff provides us with a delicious meal and we are all able to discuss our
different experiences throughout the day.
Fresh@News : What type of work are people doing
on Saturday?
Chrissy Quisenberry: We have a wide variety of service opportunities
for people around the city. We have teams at the Philadelphia Zoo, local parks,
churches, homeless shelters and food pantries, elder centers, just to name a
few. One of our largest contingencies is working with the Heart of Camden, a
community based organization that is dedicated to revitalizing neighborhoods in
Camden, NJ through providing affordable housing along with family and youth
services and human development. We also have quite a few people working with
Habitat for Humanity at our local affiliates.
Fresh@News : How did students get involved?
Chrissy Quisenberry: In the weeks leading up to the weekend,
students, faculty and staff were able to sign up online through our website and
choose their service location. They were able either to sign up as an
individual or as part of a group. Each site was led by student leaders and one
faculty or staff leader. It is great to see so many of our student
organizations represented and serving together. We had athletic teams,
residence halls, student organizations, fraternities and sororities, and some
of our Freshman Seminar classes that signed up to serve together as a group. It
is also a great way to meet new people since you were able to simply sign up
individually for a service site that was of interest to you.
Fresh@News : It sounds like it is going to be a
busy day.
Chrissy Quisenberry: It definitely is an exciting day to be a part of
the Villanova community.
Fresh@News : Is this something that happens every
year?
Chrissy Quisenberry: Yes! This is our fourth annual Day of Service
and something that students, faculty, staff and community members look forward
to every Fall. It is our hope that more people will be able to participate year
after year!
Fresh@News : Good Luck with “House
Calls” on Wednesday and the Day of Service on Saturday. The
freshman are sure to enjoy two of Villanova’s annual programs!
_____________________________________________________________________________
This
posting is part of an e-mail news service for parents and friends of Villanova's
class of 2013. To subscribe to this service, send an e-mail to majordomo@news.villanova.edu.
The text of your message should include two words: “subscribe
fresh” . To stop receiving messages, send an e-mail to the same
address with the words: “unsubscribe fresh”. Old messages are
archived on the world wide web at: http://news.villanova.edu/fresh/
.
No
official news or policy statements are included in this service. The
postings provide supplemental background information for parents and friends of
the class. While the information is as accurate as possible, all
information is subject to change without notice. Please do not reply to
these postings. If you have specific questions, contact the
appropriate office at Villanova University or email the Parents' Website at parents@villanova.edu. See www.parents.villanova.edu for
phone numbers and further information about Villanova.