Students Explore Service on Junior Retreat

Story by Elena Burt '25

Every Wednesday, a group of juniors and a faculty or staff chaperone spend the day volunteering at the Open Door Mission as part of the junior retreat experience. The Open Door Mission and Marian have a strong partnership, and they gracefully welcome the Marian community to theirs. 

Mrs. Anna Sparwasser, who is a three-time and counting junior retreat chaperone, appreciates the organization. She said, “They know us and always have something for us to do. It is a really well-run activity.” 

Sparwasser is keen on this retreat in particular. She said, “I was sold on it after my first time going! It is a great way to spend my time with juniors while we volunteer and get to know each other.”

She believes that junior year is the ideal time for a service -ocused retreat. She said, “Juniors are at a better stage of life and can process the work, faith and team building that happens. I think the juniors are able to truly understand the difference between helping and serving.” 

On that note, Sparwasser added, “It is an opportunity to serve alongside the juniors; I am not leading but accompanying the students. That is a unique role that I don’t always get to be in.”  

Junior Kelsey Asselin and described the experience as "eye-opening." "I have never really volunteered at a place like that before,” said Asselin.

Asselin thinks that it is a good thing that juniors from Marian get to have this experience. They reflect on the lives of others compared to their own. She said, “It got us out of our daily routines, allowing us to experience how even just doing a little help for a place like that goes a long way.”

While serving at the Open Door Mission, Asselin realized that, for many people, having the means for necessities like food, water and a place to stay is harder than one might think. She said, “I never really thought of how many people have less than what I have.” She realized how straining it is for people to be in a pit and to get out of a pit. 

This year’s retreat stood out to her compared to freshman and sophomore years because she got to help people and learn from it. “When we were sorting the clothes, it ranged from newborn clothes to grown adult clothes. All sorts of people, young, old or really old, can be in situations that sometimes would never cross our minds,” Asselin said. 

During one of the acts of service, Asselin made connections with people by being friendly, and she learned that just asking simple questions can change someone’s day. “People would come and go, but by simply asking, ‘How are you doing today?’ people enjoyed being able to talk about their lives and what they’ve gone through,” she said.