“I had not anticipated how many barriers and tests the students would put in front of me.”
Before I started teaching at Sisters Academy I thought a lot about all that I would be able to accomplish in the year, about how I was going to shape my students, and about how I would have the opportunity to be a positive role model in their lives.
“But by the end of the year I realized it was more or less a cover and inside they were just sweet, middle school girls who wanted so desperately to not be let down one more time.”
I had not anticipated how many barriers and tests the students would put in front of me before I could even start to earn their trust and have any meaningful impact on their lives. This challenge was most obvious to me in my efforts to help the 8th grade produce their first-ever school yearbook.
The 8th grade’s efforts on the yearbook helped them to gain confidence in their abilities to work together as a team. The project also helped me to realize how naïve I was to think that the students were going to trust me immediately upon my arrival at the school.
Growing up in some of the harder parts of Baltimore City and experiencing firsthand the turmoil in Baltimore City public schools had left many of my students guarded and tough to reach.
But by the end of the year I realized it was more or less a cover and inside they were just sweet, middle school girls who wanted so desperately to not be let down one more time.
~ Cassie, graduate of St. Joseph’s University, BSVM volunteer 2007-08. Cassie continues to teach at the Sisters Academy of Baltimore where she served
full-time as a Bon Secours Volunteer.
“Not only was I able to help my clients but, through me, they were able to help other people in their lives.”
It was during the teaching of nutrition classes that I realized how much my service was making a difference in the lives of others.
Throughout the year my clients were frequently in awe about learning new thingsthat had never been taught to them.
They were constantly telling me how much they had learned and had been able to put their knowledge to use not only in their own lives but in those of their parents, spouses, children and grandchildren.
Not only was I able to help my clients but through me they were able to help other people in their lives.
~ Nicole, graduate of the College of St. Benedict, BSVM volunteer 2007-08. After serving as a Bon Secours Volunteer at the
Tele-Heart program, Nicole pursued a career in health care.
Service Works
I worked with a young mother of a newborn, who had left a four-year long abusive relationship. Leaving the relationship left her homeless. As her case manager, I helped this woman focus on her goals and take steps to meet them. As I was preparing to finish my volunteer year, she had been accepted into a transitional housing program and was preparing to take the GED exam. This was an example of the kind of service that can be so effective – giving resources to someone who really wants to use them.
~ Vanessa, graduate of the University of Virginia, BSVM volunteer 1999-2000
. After serving at the Bon Secours Women’s Resource Center,
Vanessa returned to Virginia.
Easing Patients' Nerves
Although I carried out fairly simple tasks such as checking on patients, taking their vitalssigns,running EKGs, or checking bloodsugar levels, my real job was to ease patient nerves. I would welcome them with a friendly smile, joke withthem and listen to the complaints they would later reveal to their doctors. In just a few weeks, patients were familiar with me and let me know that they appreciated my kind and helpful bedside manner.
~ Kim, graduate of Washington University, BSVM volunteer
2003-04. After serving full-time at the Bon Secours Washington Village clinic, Kim began medical school.
Before I started teaching at Sisters Academy I thought a lot about all that I would be able to accomplish in the year, about how I was going to shape my students, and about how I would have the opportunity to be a positive role model in their lives. 
“Not only was I able to help my clients but, through me, they were able to help other people in their lives.” 
