Finding Vocation Through a Year of Service

Being in Pre-K for a year makes me feel that the kids I’m serving are my own children. It is a privilege that I get to create so many special bonds and be one of the few people outside of their families to receive the phrase “I love you.” I learned from this year that the best way to love my students is to learn how to manage their behaviors. Management might not sound like love if the basic premise of love is not to will the good of the other. To love these children then is to do what is good for them. In the case of day care, it means molding them into the best version of who they are. Oftentimes, these kids were testing how much I care about them. It was imperative that I respond to their request appropriately: too relaxed and they will not know what is a good choice or bad choice, too firm and they will feel ashamed or wrong for being who they are. While they’re far too young to understand my response to their actions, my hope is to show them that I care for who they are.

I am also glad that I got to serve at Pre-K this year because it cemented my desire to be a teacher. There were multiple signs that teaching was where I was going next. From getting accepted into a program as early as February, to getting my subject examination waived despite not having the prescribed major, to fulfilling my wish of attending a Catholic university. Before I even attend the FrancisCorps 25th anniversary celebration, I will begin my journey at PLACE Corps, a graduate program in education in which I will study full time and teach full time in a Catholic school in the Los Angeles archdiocese. Much like FrancisCorps, I will be in a community of like-minded people, live a gospel centered life, and serve the underprivileged population, albeit with a greater emphasis on education. The next two years will perhaps be the busiest time in my life, but from the moment I tried on the sweatshirt from PLACE Corps for the first time, I knew that I was headed in the right direction.

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