Student Spotlights

HTML Source EditorWord Wrap

Megan and Kelsey both gained knowledge and applications of the dual objective and guided inquiry learning models. Of equal importance, Kelsey reflects on the “Vincentian” learnings of the experience of planning and executing the trip.

St. Vincent de Paul said, “Let us do our duty well; let us go straight to God; let us work to become very humble, very patient, very mortified, and very charitable.”[i] This trip has been an exercise in humility. I sat and spoke with students who were semester behind me in coursework, and had completed less field hours, but were degrees beyond me in life experience. I have been called, in the Vincentian charism, by God to serve the poor youth of our nation through education. The students I was fortunate enough to meet with were products of the very system I have been called to serve in. Just as importantly, these students have reached a reflective stage, through the lens of academic evidence, and have analyzed their experience.

It was not until this trip that I realized the gaps I had in my education thus far. I have not engaged in nearly enough conversations with teacher candidates who are minority students who graduated from the nation’s inner-city schools. I have spent time working with the inner-city impoverished youth of Niagara Falls, Syracuse, New York City, and Philadelphia. I had begun to put techniques into practice without the background knowledge I am only now beginning to have.

Niagara has shown be that to be Vincentian is to bring the love of Christ to the poor: the financially poor, the spiritually poor, the educationally poor, and the emotionally poor. As a Vincentian I needed to hear the stories and opinions of AAMU’s students. In order to do my duty well, I need to go to God, and be humble. This trip has shown me just how little I know, but how great the possibilities are.

The Vincentian charism does not exist in an educational vacuum. I learned on this trip how many college students, who wish to serve the poor, face nearly insurmountable barriers on their road to service. Niagara has eliminated many boundaries, and I have been blessed enough not to face many others. However, students across the nation, and especially at AAMU, are facing countless boundaries.

• I have found a new service avenue, and that is with my peers, near and far.
• I have been inspired to seek to have these conversations more frequently. We are fortunate enough to have sister schools and neighboring schools with similar candidate populations as AAMU. These conversations will be crucial as the University prepares to send out more teacher candidates.
• I have learned more than I could have ever expected, in aspects of the field I never considered, and have still more to learn.