CALLED TO SERVE

MEGAN SCHIELE

Megan Schiele (right) is a senior
at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee,
majoring in Occupational Therapy

Service to me is what I can do to help someone else. During the summer, I served on a staff of 10 college-aged students who worked for the Catholic HEART Workcamp. I began my journey in Providence, R.I., and then traveled to Boston, Mass., Prince Frederick, Md., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Dayton, Ohio, and with a final stop in Kearny, N.J.

Each camp welcomed 200 to 400 high school students and their chaperones from Catholic parishes across the United States. The students gave a week of their summer vacation to volunteer for different organizations and people. They offered up their hands and bodies to help others.

As a staff member, everything I did was ministry. I was there to be a role model to the high school students and keep them motivated during their busy and tiring week. We put on a morning and evening program each day, and made sure campers had good meals to nourish them after their hard work. Each afternoon, staff members went to the worksites to see how the campers were doing.

In my role, I tried to live my life as a response to how God was calling me. I needed willingness to lend a helping hand, problem solve and keep a positive attitude. Each staff member was asked to be open to multiple roles – responding to many needs.

Through my service experience, I have come to understand that God wants me to help others as much as I can. The kindness I experienced was like nothing I had ever known before. Coming home was almost bitter-sweet, because sometimes that same kindness was not apparent to me in my everyday life.

Because of this experience, I realize all the blessings in my life. It feels that I’m meant to give back in some way. As I move forward in my life, that is what I want to work on. I plan to volunteer around my home – showing the kindness and love to others that surrounded me this summer.