Eight Lasallian Volunteers have begun the 2015 – 2016 school year as members of a faculty of a San Francisco New Orleans District ministry. They are serving at four schools: Cathedral High School-El Paso, De La Salle Academy, De Marillac Academy, and San Miguel High School. Three of the Volunteers will be in their second year of service, while this will be the first year of service for the remaining five.
Here are short profiles of our Volunteers in their own words:
Anthony Carbone is a second-year Volunteer at De La Salle Academy in Concord, CA.
College: La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA.
Position: This year I will be co-teaching 5th grade language arts and 7th grade math, and teaching 6th grade earth science.
Hobbies/Interests: I really love music: listening, playing guitar, singing. I try to bring this into my service as much as possible.
Quote: The best thing about being a Lasallian Volunteer is the opportunity to grow and develop as an educator. I am learning so much about how to teach and how to inspire others, and I cannot thank the program enough for that experience.
Ellie Cash is a first-year Volunteer at San Miguel High School in Tucson, AZ.
College: Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO.
Position: My job title for the year is Student Support Coordinator, and I have a variety of roles. I’ll be working as the Assistant to the Vice Principal, helping with academic advising. I’ll also be working in Mission & Ministry, working with students and staff to organize on- and off-campus community service projects and on the El Otro Lado immersion trips, learning about border control and immigration.
Hobbies/Interests: Well, I’d describe myself as an amateur coffee connoisseur to start. I love to travel and explore, and I hope to hike in Tucson when it gets a bit cooler. And as a part of my career, I enjoy reading about education research and methods, as it is field that is constantly changing.
Quote: After being an LV for just under a month, I can say that I have learned so much about myself already, so that’d be my favorite part. Working as a professional right out of college and also living simply in community poses many challenges, but I’m already thinking about the world in a new way and I learn something new about myself every day. It’s truly incredible.
Sheila Garcia is a second-year Volunteer at Cathedral High School in El Paso, TX.
College: Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, CA.
Position: This will be my second year working in the Office of Campus Ministry. I will be coordinating our all school monthly Masses, our monthly class level retreats, arranging priests to come to the school twice a month to hold the sacrament of reconciliation, holding adoration monthly, moderating the Lasallian Youth club, assisting the Athletic Department with Athletic Training, and coordinating community service projects for 500 students as well as for individual sports teams. This year, I hope to be expanding the Service Learning Program that I had started last year by adding more classes to the program. And this year I will be recreating El Otro Lado (The Other Side), a border immersion program that originated in Tucson, AZ at San Miguel High School so that schools in our region will be able to immerse themselves in the borderland issues of El Paso and Juarez.
Hobbies/Interests: I really enjoy going out and discovering local art whenever possible, traveling as much as I can, and spending quality time with my community and friends.
Quote: The best thing about being a Lasallian Volunteer is that I get to live my life in a very intentional way centered around faith, service, and community.
Rebecca Hulick is a first-year Volunteer at Cathedral High School in El Paso, TX.
College: Penn State University, State College, PA.
Position: I am working in the Office of Campus Ministry at Cathedral High School in El Paso, TX. There are a variety of responsibilities given to Campus Ministry. We take care of planning the dates of school Masses, retreats, and service projects. One of the projects I want to moderate this year is Habitat For Humanity, which was a big success last year.
Hobbies/Interests: I enjoy running and just recently got into hiking. Here in El Paso, there are many trails that take you across the mountains. I would consider myself a foodie and I eat my way through every city I go to. My guilty pleasure is listening to Broadway musicals on my iPod.
Quote: The best part of being a Lasallian Volunteer is facing all the challenges put forth and having the full support of your community to help guide you. I also like that we motivate the students and ourselves to be the change we wish to see in the world and to make a difference in the community.
Samantha Hyland is a second-year Volunteer at De Marillac Academy in San Francisco, CA.
College: La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA.
Position: I am the Academic Resource Teacher working with grades 4-8. My main priority is helping the students who are struggling, to meet them where they are and help guide them to where they need to be. I pull students out for interventions and extra support. I also help students directly in the classroom.
Hobbies/Special Interests: I love to explore San Francisco and the Bay area!
Quote: The best part of being a Lasallian Volunteer is having the opportunity to live and serve with the students and families entrusted to my care. Faith, service and community is my every day experience, and it is helping me to grow into the educator I want to become.
Kacie Kusinski is a first-year Volunteer at De Marillac Academy in San Francisco, CA.
College: Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, Winona, MN.
Position: This year I will be teaching Social Studies for 5th and 8th grade. I will be spending most of the school day in the 5th grade classroom as student support.
Hobbies/Interests: I really love to get lost in a good book, hike to new heights, or basically do anything crafty and creative, like painting!
Quote: To me, picking one thing that is ‘the best thing about being a Lasallian Volunteer’ is near impossible, because there are SO many wonderful things about being a Lasallian Volunteer. Community life and your service site are equally rewarding as they are challenging, in the most wonderful way possible. I am very proud and humbled to be able to call myself a Lasallian Volunteer and live out my call from God through the Lasallian mission, which to me, is the best part about being a Lasallian Volunteer.
Abby Michels is a first year Volunteer at De La Salle Academy in Concord, CA.
College: Lewis University, Romeoville, IL.
Position: 7th grade teacher and Parent Volunteer Coordinator.
Hobbies/Interests: I like to play sports, be outside, go to concerts, travel, and go on walks.
Quote: The best thing about being a Lasallian Volunteer is living in a community with those who can help me grow as a person and as a woman of faith.
John Tudisco is a first-year Volunteer at San Miguel High School in Tucson, AZ.
College: Manhattan College, Bronx, NY.
Position: I will be serving as a career and college counselor. In the college counseling office we try to help students discover to right career/college for them. We also help them through all of the requirements to be accepted into college as well as promoting academic discipline. I will also be helping out with the freshmen student council. We will plan different events for the school.
Hobbies/Interests: My special interests mainly revolve around sports. I love to play and watch most sports, especially my favorite teams: Mets, Jets, Islanders, and Knicks. My interests do vary, however, and I really love math and science.
Quote: The best thing about being a Lasallian Volunteer is being able to make a difference in someone’s life (although I don’t believe I’ve done that yet). The support system of staff and fellow LVs is also incredible.
Lasallian Volunteers are young men and women who each serve a one-to-three year commitment of service to the poor in ministries throughout the Region. Since the movement began in the early 1980s, there have been over 700 participants, many of whom continue to serve after their commitment is concluded. Now a national program of the Christian Brothers Conference, Lasallian Volunteers is currently directed by Kathleen Glackin.
This year’s San Francisco New Orleans Lasallian Volunteers with Br. James Joost, FSC at this summer’s LV Orientation.
Photos courtesy Kathleen Glackin and Brother James Joost, FSC.
