Holy Week – Monday, April 6
Isaiah 42:1-7. Thus says God, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it: I, God, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
| In spring of 2004,
I fulfilled my Human Issues requirement by taking part in the El Salvador experience.
What I remember most from our classes prior to our immersion experience is a
discussion about how our objective was to give a voice to those who do not have one.
I had no idea what this meant. That all changed when I heard first-hand stories of
lives ripped apart by faulty trade agreements, civil war and poor foreign policy on
behalf of the country I lived in. I came back to Edgewood changed and confused.
My hand had been grasped, and I was formed. A covenant was made by my experience in
El Salvador, and I had committed myself to share the voices for all the people I met
in El Salvador, who have no voices, as often as I could, with whomever would
listen. In July 2006 I moved to Baltimore to start my current job at Loyola. My first week on the job, I was hanging photos in my office from my trip, when a co-worker walked in. My new co-worker had been to the same small village in El Salvador and had met the individuals in my photos. You can imagine how excited and amazed we both were at this new discovery. My feelings of loneliness in this new place subsided immediately. I knew at that moment I had found the correct next step in my life. My co-worker and I became instant partners in working for justice on our campus. I was given breath and spirit, and knew I was being called upon to do the same for others. For the past two years at Loyola I have had the opportunity to be a staff advisor for a service trip to Mexico each January. I am now able to grasp others by the hand and help them create light for others, just as others at Edgewood had done for me in that spring of 2004. - Peter Paquette, Assistant Director of Student Life, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD B.A., Graphic Design & Communication Studies, 2004, Edgewood College |