Within the Loyola College and Jesuit tradition, students are taught to surpass expectations of regular college life by immersing themselves into every aspect of Baltimore City. As a part of certain educational and personal goals, students are called upon by the Jesuit belief, as reinforced in Fr. Peter Ham Kolvenbach’s piece “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in Jesuit Higher Education,” to become active members of the community and well-educated human beings. Saint Ignatius stood by the belief that love should be expressed “not only in words but also in deeds” and in doing my part, I volunteer at the Infant Care Unit at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital.
Becoming an adult in society, I realize that it is the beginning of my time to work to shape the world around me. Along with the education I receive at Loyola I am also beginning to feel an “educated awareness of society and culture,” (34) as well as, an insight into the “gritty reality of this world” (34). My time in Baltimore has been my first, true city-living experience. I now understand and am able to see the presence of many injustices within the city and society. Using the skills that I have, I know that I must do my part to make right, the wrongs.
For many years, it has been my goal to help others who struggle with their physical and mental health—ultimately I would like to become a pediatrician. As I am learning about my responsibilities to the city and to the world, I have decided to begin this journey the Mt Washington Pediatric Hospital. During the past four months as a volunteer, I have had the opportunity to help those who have not been fortunate enough to have the kind of physical health with which I have been blessed. Specifically, I work with the infants; some are living with the help of ventilators, some are the victims of neglectful parenting and drug problems, and others are recovering from extensive surgeries. No matter their situation, each child receives equal care and support. As a volunteer, I bring toys to the children, play with them, help them to accomplish their prescribed sensory goals, and sometimes it is nice to just hold them.
With every air whisper of the ventilator machines and beep of the heart rate monitors, the staff and volunteers breathe a sigh of relief, as it touches our hearts to see that the children are doing well. As Fr. Kolvenbach suggests, “when the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change. Personal involvement with innocent suffering, with the injustice others suffer, is the catalyst for solidarity which then gives rise to intellectual inquiry and moral reflection” (34). Recently, I had the chance to hold a crying, shaking baby. I suspected through my previous knowledge that this child was born of a woman who had been using certain substances that had caused harm to her unborn child. Having the small, innocent child in my arms truly made me realize my fortunes as well as the things that needed to be fixed in the community.
My experiences at the hospital have deepened my understanding of the Jesuit tradition and my connection to the city. Working within a hospital environment, I have been able to see a place that has no boundaries or boarders. Sickness is not something that only affects the poor or the minorities, instead it can affect anyone. With the lessons that I have learned at the hospital and Loyola in mind, I can go on to other projects with the same goal—turning my beliefs into actions.