Mission: Graduates change the world

By: Natalie Schutz

Posted: 2/11/09

Today's young adults stood by as the World Trade Center arose in flames, a massive tsunami demolished Asia and hurricanes left many Americans homeless. Views such as this have led several to serve during college or after graduation in order to impact the people they've watch suffer throughout their adolescence.

Different, eye-opening experiences in college than their childhood also impact college students to push aside their career and help others on little or no salary. For Lewis senior, Daina Norusis, it was the experience of University Ministry's mission trip to the Philippines in January 2008 that really called her to consider international service after graduation. "I saw poverty in a whole new way," said the psychology and theology double major from Homer Glen.

Norusis had done service in the U.S. and a daylong project in Mexico, but the Philippines trip was her first real taste of international missions. She said the deviation in the Philippines opened her eyes and changed her heart. "It redefined poverty for me," she said. "Since then, I've felt very called to continue missions in some way, shape or form."

Norusis is not alone in her love of service. University Ministry graduate assistant, Jonathan Dackow, served in a post-graduation service program, called Lasallian Volunteers for three years before making his way to Lewis. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, in 2005 3.3 million college students volunteered, compared to 2.7 million in 2002.

Norusis' post-graduation planning does not include shaping her resume or buying a new suit. Instead, it's spent searching philanthropist Web sites, such as christianvolunteering.org, in search of the mission opportunity that is right for her.

"I'm feeling very drawn right now to World Race," Norusis said. World Race is a missions opportunity where participants travel to 11 different countries in 11 months. Even though, she's always been attracted to the idea of serving in Africa, she finds the notion of seeing almost every continent to be exciting. It would also almost fulfill her goal of serving in every continent before she's 25. "I don't have a lot of knowledge of the world," she admitted.

Norusis also sees the traveling mission opportunity as a way to see which place she'd like to serve long-term. "I'd get a better idea of where God's calling me," she said.

Norusis sees faith as a leading aspect throughout her many thoughts of service. Proverbs 3:5-6 states, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." She cites this as reason to believe that God will take care of her no matter where she goes, whether it is serving AIDS stricken Africa or corruption-filled Latin America.

Dackow agreed. "[Volunteering] let me explore more about my faith," he said. Part of Dackow's service experience included daily prayer. "Especially during my first year (of volunteering), I found evening prayer just to be so useful to just calm down from the day," he said.

Faith leading to volunteering is a common occurrence. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, "the largest percentage of Americans […] volunteer for churches and other places of worship and religious groups." People in the Midwest are also more likely to donate their time more than any other U.S. region, said the article.

What attracts Norusis most to missions? She looks forward to helping others and making connections with the people she serves. In her past service trips, she recalled how she almost broke her ankle and while in the Philippines, she was sick most of the trip. Yet, it is not these occurrences that she said she remembers most; rather it is the people she met and the faces she saw.

Norusis especially remembers a Filipino boy named, Michael. "Michael was 2 years old; sick, didn't speak, and never smiled, but he would always be found at my side," she said. "From the moment I stepped foot on the worksite to the moment it was time to leave, my little buddy Michael could be found clinging to my leg."

After Norusis returned to that worksite she was surprised to see Michael again, but this time he was smiling. "I was greeted by a running and smiling boy-my little buddy was there to greet me. I'll never forget the moment I saw Michael smile," she said.

Michael is one easy answer Norusis gives to the question, "Why do you like missions?" "To know that there's a little boy in the Philippines who will always know that some girl named Daina loves him makes it more than worthwhile in my book," she said.

Yet, Norusis does have some fears before jumping into long-term service. "Hands down-leaving my family and friends," she stated as the biggest challenge for her. She has an aunt who are sick, who she is afraid to leave. The thought of being in another country and getting an e-mail, a phone call, or not even knowing her condition scares her. "It gets tough when I think about leaving the people I love behind," Norusis said.

"A lot of people think they're giving up a year or two," explained Dackow, about service commitments. Yet, he felt that his experience as a Lasallian Volunteer was so enriching that it was not a step aside, but rather "it's a step forward," he said.

To those college students that are thinking of long-term service, Norusis offers some advice. "Try it. Don't be scared," she said. "I realized there's no better time than now." Volunteering among college-aged people has doubled since 1989, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Dackow suggests going through the application process if contemplating service. He said this process helps resolve the many questions that students often have on their minds. The student just needs to decide if they're going to send the application or not.

Norusis feels that she's been so blessed in her life, that it's her time to start giving back. She quoted Christian author and speaker, Rob Bell and said, "Don't ask God to feed someone who's hungry if you have plenty of food." "This quote cut deep to my heart, a heart that already yearns for mission, and made me question, 'what more can I do?'" she said.

Norusis had her second trip to the Philippines through University Ministry in January. "I feel this is God's calling for me. Everything seems to remind me of missions," she said.

The work that Norusis and others are doing is not just appreciated; it is necessary. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, "The number of charity groups in the United States has tripled over the past 20 years and continues to grow." This leaves many volunteering opportunities to fill.

One statistic by the Bridgespan Group, estimated that by 2016, "philanthropies will need to fill 640,000 senior-management jobs left vacant by retiring baby boomers," said an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Sandy Cardin seems to agree with Lasallian Volunteers' motto, "A way to change the world." "The desire to help others is motivating increasingly larger numbers of young people and, if appropriately nurtured, will result in the emergence of a skilled and experienced generation of community activists and leaders capable of effecting positive change for years to come," said Cardin, in an editorial in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Many college students seem to have volunteered at one time or another. A national survey administered by the University of California at Los Angeles stated, "94 percent of college freshmen said they had participated in some form of community service in the last 12 months." Nationally, the survey reported that 4 million Americans serve more than 228 million hours annually through federally financed programs. This includes services such as AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America.

At Lewis, service is required for the ICE class. Volunteering is also an essential part of many student organizations.

For Dackow, the idea of service was always on his mind. When he was about to graduate college, he questioned, "What am I going to do?" He thought about the Peace Corps, but Lasallian Volunteers stuck in his head because of the familiarity he felt with the his own Lasallian campus at Manhattan College.

"It felt like a very safe way to get into it," Dackow said. "It was a good way of starting my adult life."

Through Lasallian Volunteers, Dackow was able to see other parts of the country besides his native New York, get his first real job, and do what the program's motto states: change the world. "It sorta gave me direction of what I wanted to do," he said.

According to Lasallian Volunteers' Web site, "The Lasallian Volunteer Program […] of the De LaSalle Christian Brothers provides dedicated, well-trained volunteers for one or more years of service to schools and agencies of the Brothers whose mission is to serve the poor."

Through Lasallian volunteers Dackow now has a "packed resume." He had the opportunity to live in Portland, Ore. and Manhattan.

At De LaSalle North Catholic High School in Portland, Dackow was the primary driver to transport students in the corporate internship program. He also co-taught two art classes. "Some days it's harder than others, but as the whole, you know that the students are getting something out of it," Dackow said.

At the LaSalle Academy in Manhattan, he co-coordinated an academic support center, much like Lewis' Leckone Academic Resource Center. "Some of the best times that I really enjoyed is when we're not just helping them (students) with the academics, it's some of the life issues they bring up because we're not in a regular classroom, they can feel a little more comfortable asking more personal questions," he said.

Dackow names the communities that he lived in on of the best aspects of the Lasallian Volunteers program. "[They offered] strengthening support," he said. "It was sort of like living with a family. We had that common service connection."

If Dackow had any trouble with the students, he recalled going home where over 100 years of teaching experience from the Christians Brothers sat with him at the dinner table.

Now Dackow continues to serve the Lasallian community as a graduate assistant in University Ministry as he pursues his master's in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Student Services. "This (service) has made me a much better student," Dackow said, since he now knows what it's like to be on the other side of the desk.

Of course service is not for everyone. Yet, it is a rising trend among college students who want to give back from the blessings in their life. Norusis said, "I think there's certain people God gives this passion to and I just happen to be one of them."

For more information on long-term missions, students can contact Jonathan Dackow in University Ministry or visit Web sites such as christianvolunteering.org and idealist.org.