Year of Service: Living Out Our Ignatian Spirituality
Written on 1:37 PM by Xavier Career Development
“Go
to college, a university. Get a real job-that’s what they said to me.” That’s
what Joel Madden from Good Charlotte sang about our futures back in the year
2003. But this is the year 2014, and not all of us want to follow the routine
pattern of jumping straight into a working environment immediately after
graduation. Some of us are pursuing graduate school, and others are considering
a year of service: being a man or woman for others and giving their time and
talent to those truly in need. Xavier graduate Matthew Mellon, class of 2009, describes his life changing
experience with post-grad volunteering.
What
was your scenario that made you decide upon your year of service?
A year of service was a logical place to start my
career after college. I always knew I wanted to work in something related
to social justice. At that point in my life, I was also exploring
the connection between social justice and faith. So, spending a
year with the Lutheran Volunteer Corps fit my priorities quite
well, because they were a faith-based program and most of their
service placements were explicitly focused on social justice.
Did
you attend the post-grad fair during your
time at Xavier?
I did attend! I went my Junior and Senior years.
What
is it you did during your year of service?
Immediately after graduation, I went into my year
of service with Lutheran Volunteer Corps. I was placed at DC
Employment Justice Center, a law center for low-wage workers. I worked on
the advocacy team, where I lobbied for workplace protections for low wage
workers in Washington, DC at the city council. I also did some case work
with our clients and helped them navigate legal issues related
to their employment (I was supervised by an attorney). I heard about Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC) through a
friend who had applied a year earlier. I also think I talked to them at
Xavier's Post Grad Service Fair, but I can't remember for sure.
Did
this require you to re-locate from your hometown? Did you complete the year of
service alone or with others you knew?
Yes, I left my hometown of Cincinnati, and
relocated to DC. I didn't know anyone beforehand, but I became
good friends with most of the other 21 people in my LVC cohort.
What
are you most glad about after having completed your year?
Well, this is a bit difficult to answer. There are many
things that I am deeply appreciative of after finishing my year of service
(which was four years ago). If I had to pick one, I think it was learning about
the policy-making process in DC City Council, and more importantly how
important policy advocacy is in social justice work. Advocacy has been my
career, in one way or another, since finishing my year of service.
What
followed your year of service?
Right afterward, I started a one year leadership
development program called Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship, which
took me to Arizona to work on hunger related issues. After that, I moved back
to DC and worked for several years in health policy, then as a researcher at
a hospital. Now, I am in graduate school pursuing degrees in public health
and public policy.
Although Matthew’s experience was
within the United States, there are many international opportunities as well! A
year of service could be a great opportunity to explore a career field and gain
experience. To find out, attend the
Graduate School and Year-of-Service Fair on October 28!
Cheers to the future,
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