Learning by Serving

by EleanorThibodeau

Service opportunities are easy to come by than in a class where service is the main goal - Christian Leadership in Action. The small community in the Christian Leadership in Action course is made up of 12 seniors who devote themselves to service once a week during their class time. 

This semester, service sites have been Keystone Ridge Senior Living, Connected Roots Care Center (CRCC) and different Catholic Urban Education System (CUES) schools around Omaha. 

At Keystone Ridge Senior Living, senior Avery Driml said, “we helped clean up their entry way by pulling weeds, we played a game with the old folks and we held a prayer service for them.” This small class helped brighten the days of the elderly residents. 

“At CRCC, we played with kids who have a disability,” Driml said. Not only is the service this class does good for the people they serve, but it also exposes the Marian girls to new parts of life they may not have experienced.

The CUES schools they go to are Sacred Heart, Holy Name and All Saints. CUES schools is a group of three Catholic schools in Omaha that serve low income families. At these schools they “help around the classroom and play with the kids,” Driml said.

With the name “Christian Leadership in Action,” this class is clearly centered around faith, so it heavily promotes it in the lives of students who take it. “It reminds me that God is constantly working in everyone’s lives,” Driml said. 

Not only does the Christian Leadership in Action class promote the core values of faith and service, but compassion as well. “The service we do helps us become more compassionate towards others,” senior Alivia Peklo said.

This is a faith and service-centered class that was added to the course offerings as a theology elective, for seniors only. “It is a wonderful experience for anyone who enjoys serving their community,” Peklo said.