Final exams are over, diplomas handed out, and members of the Holy Cross Class of 2009 have said their goodbyes — to each other and to the campus.
Yet the experiences they’ve had on Mount St. James will be with them always. And for many graduates, those experiences have shaped their very next steps.
Take David Floyd, for example. The double major in philosophy and Catholic Studies (which he designed) is heading to Texas with Teach For America, in part because of what he learned in and out of the classroom. Over the last few years, numerous Holy Cross students have joined Teach For America following graduation.
“The big thing that Holy Cross has done for me is give me the exposure to reality I needed to realize how much suffering there is outside of what we see every day,” says Floyd.
He credits his experiences at Holy Cross with helping him discover and nurture his passion for social justice work. After being involved with the Chaplains’ Office during his freshman year, Floyd opted to go on an immersion trip to Mexico in the summer of 2006.
“Going to Mexico with the Chaplains’ Office was the first true experience and contact I had with poverty. It was shocking, to say the least,” he says.
The following year he went on the Holy Cross Spring Break Immersion Program, and worked gutting houses in the heart of Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. Floyd’s involvement in the program earned him the position of co-chair during his senior year, a year in which one-tenth of the student population participated.
“Being able to co-chair the largest Spring Break Immersion Program allowed me to make some kind of mark and really get involved with seeing the program through to the end,” he says.
Floyd also explored poverty in the United States by spending the summer of 2007 interning with a non-profit social services agency in the Bronx, where he learned about “the reality of unacceptable poverty here in our own country.”
The classroom helped Floyd, a Warren, N.J., native, cultivate his mind and prepare him to pursue his interest in service-oriented work.
“I think philosophy has trained me to have a critical mind that evaluates all the different truth claims being thrown at us and hopes to arrive at a well thought-out and articulated view,” he says.
To complete his Catholic Studies major, Floyd completed a capstone titled, “Seeking Divine Accountability in Light of Suffering.” He describes it as “an exploration of how it is we’re traditionally encouraged to deal with suffering from a religious perspective and whether that is adequate.” Floyd believes that the fusion of these two disciplines has been crucial to his development and preparation for life after graduation.
Floyd will bring the spirit of service that he has cultivated in Mexico, New Orleans, the Bronx, and Worcester with him to Houston, where he will work for Teach For America beginning this fall.
“My experiences at Holy Cross have helped me understand that, even if it’s a small contribution, to discount any kind of social justice work as ‘ineffective’ is to underestimate it.”
By Anthony Curotto ’09
Related Information:
Floyd '09 Joins Scores of Holy Cross Grads Who Bring Social Justice Experiences to Teach For America
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