Mt. St. Vincent students learning through service

 More than 330 College of Mount Saint Vincent students participated in community service during the spring 2012 semester, completing nearly 2,800 hours of service both domestically and abroad, according to Director of Campus Ministry Cecilia Harriendorf, S.C.

The students volunteered on-campus, working as Volunteer Teaching Assistants with the Biology Department and with the Department of Human Resources as helpers to the College’s nonprofit partners, including the Hebrew Home for the Aged and the Academy of Jewish Religion, and traveled to Appalachia and Guatemala, gaining invaluable experience while assisting families living in poverty and indigenous populations in need of medical care.

Service learning opportunities at the Mount are offered through the Divisions of Academic and Student Affairs, and the Office of Campus Ministry. In keeping with the philosophy of giving back to the less fortunate espoused by the Mount’s founders and sponsors, the Sisters of Charity of New York, participating in service learning opportunities remains an integral component of a College of Mount Saint Vincent education.

Kristin Conti ’12 of Massapequa, N.Y. participated in the Mount’s 2012 Annual Service Learning Trip to Guatemala for nursing students. “Seeing the simple ways the people live and realizing how lucky we are at home puts a new perspective on your everyday,” she says. Sophomore Seton Service and Leadership Scholar Jimmy Wilkins’15 of Dartmouth, Mass. participated in Midnight Runs for the Homeless during the spring semester. “Speaking with homeless men and women allowed me to see just how much the little I could give them really brightened up their day,” he says.

About the College of Mount Saint Vincent

The College of Mount Saint Vincent is an academically excellent, authentically inclusive, Catholic and ecumenical liberal arts college. It combines a strong core curriculum with a full array of majors in the liberal arts and selected professional fields of study, including accounting, business administration, education, and nursing. Through its School of Professional and Continuing Studies, the College extends its primary undergraduate mission by offering high quality graduate studies in business, education and nursing and an array of undergraduate and certificate programs serving non-traditional students. Mount Saint Vincent is located on a pastoral campus in New York City, with easy access to all the educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities that the City affords.