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
Freshman Class. Instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe from this
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Spirituality and service are 2 important pieces of a student's
experience at Villanova. This week Fresh@News
interviews Dr. Beth Hassel, P.B.V.M., the
Executive Director of Campus Ministry at Villanova.
Fresh@News: Those of us who live and work
at Villanova know that Campus Ministry is one of the most active departments on
campus, and that its programs reach out to all members of the community. What
are some of the things you do?
Dr. Hassel: Campus Ministry serves students, faculty
and staff by offering a variety of opportunities for spiritual growth and
development. Campus ministers plan weekly and weeklong service opportunities
for students, faculty and staff. Campus ministers prepare students to be
leaders at campus liturgies. Ministers who are experts in faith
development offer a wide variety of opportunities for spiritual growth
including weekend and evening retreats, faith sharing groups, ecumenical
fellowships, and Bible study groups. Although our focus grows out of our
Catholic and Augustinian heritage, we serve the entire community; students,
faculty, and staff of all religious backgrounds participate in our activities.
Fresh@News: How would a first-year student
typically become involved with Campus Ministry?
Dr. Hassel: Actually, we met many of the
first-year students even before the school year started, through their
participation in one of our ecumenical retreats for new students. This past
June, over 200 students participated in the Connections Retreat. At New Student
Orientation we met with all of the incoming students and invited them to be
active participants of the Villanova Community through service and spirituality
programs. During the school year, there are other programs specifically for
freshman such as the Freshman Escape. The Freshman Escape is held three times a
year. Approximately 50 students spent the weekend away as an
“escape” from the hectic campus life in order to reflect on their
Villanova experience thus far. Community Outreach of Villanova (COV) offers
opportunities for new students to serve and learn from the marginalized.
Students tutor, mentor and organize opportunities for youth in many church
related agencies. The RUIBAL (Reaching Urban Individuals by Action and Love)
Challenge invites students to share their talents and skills in an after school
program in West Philadelphia. This opportunity challenges first year students
to share a talent they have developed with others. All talents are welcome such
as: cheerleading, coaching, ballet, arts and crafts and drama.
Fresh@News: How do you reach new students
with your programs?
Dr. Hassel: We publicize our services
through the Campus Ministry web page, the Villanovan, the university weekly
paper, email, flyers, church bulletin, posters, and word of mouth. Many
students will come into our office in St. Rita’s hall on main campus to
find out more about the various programs; however, we also have a presence in
the residence halls. We have eight graduate student interns who work in our
office and live in the residence halls. Our graduate interns are in their late
20’s and do a lot of the outreach; especially to first year students. The
interns work closely with the RA’s and students in the building to plan
service opportunities. Some of the activities include food drives, gift sharing
groups, retreats, hall masses, adopting families for the holidays and even
Saturday service projects. We’ve been very pleased with the work our
staff has been doing!
Fresh@News: At Villanova there is always a
lot of talk about community service. Are first year students involved in those
programs?
Dr. Hassel: Service to the marginalized
groups of society is a major part of our ministry, and we like to see our
students get involved early on in their college life. We have service
activities for our students nearly every day. For example, we regularly take
groups of students to the St. Barnabas Shelter for Women. When the women who
live at the center have group counseling, our students tutor and design arts
and crafts projects for their children. We also have regular trips into the
city where students work as tutors, in soup kitchens, or on Habitat for Humanity's
projects. This year we have a number of service projects designed specifically
for first year students through our COV (Community Outreach of Villanova)
program, which consists of weekly and Saturday service projects for first year
students. At Villanova, we are not just interested in service for its own
sake; we also want our students to connect their service work to broader issues
of faith and justice. All of our service activities include a period of
reflection, where students reflect on and discuss what they have seen and
learned through that service experience.
Fresh@News: Are there other service
programs for first year students outside of Campus Ministry?
Dr. Hassel: There are many other service
opportunities, starting, of course, with Villanova’s annual Day of
Service, which is usually held in September. The Office of Student Life has a
very popular program called Rays of Sunshine, which offers programs for
tutoring, mentoring, and visiting the elderly, sick, and disabled. We
find that most students decide which program they want to participate in based
on the service and the experience, not on which office is running it.
Fresh@News: What about the longer trips,
during spring break and fall break?
Dr. Hassel: One of our most popular
activities is our fall and spring break service/mission trips. Many of our
trips go to Habitat for Humanity sites. Students will be building for 4 1/2 to
5 days and will work alongside site supervisors, community members and
homeowners to build/repair homes. Other students will go on mission trips.
Mission experiences provide an opportunity to serve with an organization whose
roots are in the community you are serving. The students may be building or
repairing homes, tutoring children, visiting the elderly, tutoring at a GED
center, serving meals at a soup kitchen, or working in an orphanage. We
are just lining up our spring trips now. The students spend weeks planning for
the trips and a Villanova faculty member or staff member accompanies each
group. It is a wonderful opportunity for students to get to know one another,
gain new insights into the community and themselves, and to explore the
questions of social justice and spirituality. It is also a great opportunity
for students to get to know faculty members outside of class.
Fresh@News: What are some of the benefits
of service activities for our students?
Dr. Hassel: For a significant number of our
students, service was a way of life before entering the University. For many,
however, service is a new experience and becomes a way of life that they will
carry through their experience here and then continue after they graduate. (One
of our Campus Ministers serves as an adviser to seniors who want to do a year
or two of volunteer work after they graduate and before going on to a career or
to graduate school.) It all comes down to Villanova's mission as a Catholic and
Augustinian institution. We are concerned with the development of the student
as a total person. Service trips, and all of our activities in Campus Ministry,
are dedicated to helping our students grow spiritually and morally, in addition
to fostering their intellectual and professional growth. Our Patron, St. Thomas
of Villanova, a Bishop and educator was, of course, also known for his
activities for the poor and disadvantaged of his own day, and we try to make
those values important to our own lives today.
Fresh@News: Suppose a student isn’t Catholic,
Christian, or even religious, will he or she feel comfortable participating in
community service or a service trip?
Dr. Hassel: I’m smiling because
everyone at Villanova already knows the answer to that question. Our service
work is about helping our students grow through their service to others. We
have students of every religious background (or from none at all),
participating in and leading trips. We welcome anyone who is open to serving
and reflecting on the meaning of service, and those who participate almost
invariably report that it is a positive experience, regardless of their faith
commitment.
Fresh@News: What are some of your other
activities in Campus Ministry?
Dr. Hassel: I have really only mentioned a few
of the other things we offer to students. Our staff is dedicated to student
leadership and offers opportunities to develop in many areas. We offer many
opportunities for our students including: the Get Real sharing groups. These
are small groups of students led by student leaders who meet weekly to share
conversation and insights in to life experiences. Some of the topics for the
groups are: transitions to college, relationships, prayer, growth in faith and
integration of faith and service. In addition we offer personal counseling and
spiritual direction. Students come to discuss challenges in coming to terms
with their own identity or their relationships with others. Others come to talk
about issues of loss and bereavement. We coordinate our activities, of course,
with the other counseling services at Villanova, such as the University
Counseling Center and the Center of Health and Wellness. We also offer
the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). Often students participate
in this program and choose to be baptized, to be initiated into the Catholic
Church, or to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. As you might expect, many
of our graduates want to come back to Villanova's St. Thomas of Villanova
Church for their marriages, and, of course, we also work with alumni who are
planning to marry. Parents will be relieved to hear that this is not a popular
activity with our freshmen.
Fresh@News: What about students who come
from other religious traditions? What opportunities for worship and prayer are
available for them?
Dr. Hassel: Campus Ministry coordinates a
campus wide event, World Religions Day whose purpose is to educate and affirm
the diversity of faith traditions present on the campus. The office of campus
ministry is a resource for places of worship for many churches, synagogues, and
mosques in the Villanova area. Many of our students attend worship services in
the nearby area. The office of Campus Ministry coordinates the Interfaith
Coalition which provides opportunities for students of all faith traditions. We
also find that students of diverse faith backgrounds attend and feel welcome at
our on-campus liturgies. Students from diverse religious traditions come
together as Villanovans to educate and inform the University community about
religious traditions present on campus and faith opportunities open to all our
students. Students co-sponsor the September World Religions Day. They seem to
respond to the fellowship and community spirit of our services, and they
appreciate the fact that there is no pressure on them to become Catholic. They
also appreciate that students play such important roles in our services, with
many of our students acting as Hospitality Ministers, Lectors, Eucharistic
Ministers, and Pastoral Musicians. A Campus Minister facilitates the Inter
Faith Coalition, an Interfaith Retreat and is Primary Minister to students of
various faith traditions.
Fresh@News: If parents want to get a sense
of spiritual life at Villanova, what should they do?
Dr. Hassel: If you are a parent and you are
near Villanova on a Sunday evening, I would advise you to attend a mass at the
chapel at either 6:00 PM, 8:00 PM, or 10:00 PM. What you will find is a chapel
filled to standing room capacity. The entire service will be planned and
coordinated by students. Students will greet you as you enter, and as many as
one hundred student pastoral musicians will provide the music. Indeed, other
than the priest, a Campus Ministry Coordinator, and the Pastoral Music
coordinator, you'll have to look very hard to find anyone in an official capacity
who is not a student. The priests who serve at these liturgies are extremely
popular with students, and their homilies invariably connect with the daily
concerns of many of our students. The dress is casual, of course, but I think
you will be struck by the intensity of the spiritual experience. Parents
can always consult our website www.campusministry.villanova.edu,
to get a better sense of our many activities, and, in addition, we are
always available to talk to parents about concerns about college life.
Fresh@News: What other advice do you have
for parents?
Dr. Hassel: College can be a time of
spiritual questioning for many young people, so do not be surprised if your
student raises questions about his or her religious identity. Frankly, I wish
more of our students struggled with these issues. Take the time to get involved
in the dialogue and share your story of faith and meaning with your child. I
would advise parents to encourage their students to take risks with their
faith, and not to be afraid to explore their value systems. This is a great
time of their lives to raise these questions, and we try to provide an
environment that is conducive to spiritual development. I would also urge
parents to be supportive if their sons or daughters want to participate in our
spring or fall break service trips. I know how painful it is not to have the
student home for vacation, but you will be amazed by the growth in spiritual
and personal development that you will see in your son or daughter as a result
of this intense involvement in service and reflection. As parents you have
given your son/daughter so much and now is the time to support, watch and be
amazed at their personal, academic and spiritual growth.
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