Holy Cross Students Lead the Way in Volunteering, According To Linkedin

Roughly 45% of current Holy Cross students on LinkedIn are involved in volunteer projects according to their profiles on the social media platform--the highest percentage for any higher education institution in the United States.

That wasn't news to Marty Kelly, associate chaplain and advisor to Student Programs for Urban Development. When he and Michelle Sterk Barrett, director of the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, kick-started the Civitas Community Engagement Leadership Institute this summer, more than 50 students signed up.

"Students were eager to be engaged," Kelly said.

But then again, Holy Cross students' well-known spirit of dedication to others is reflected in the Jesuit ideal, "Men and women for and with others."

Yesenia Gutierrez '21 has been volunteering at Ascentria Care Alliance in Worcester for the past year, supporting teenage refugees from Nicaragua and El Salvador seeking asylum in the U.S. And even though she's not getting paid, the political science major with hopes of one day becoming an immigration lawyer, is happy to be making a difference.

"I know my work has impact," she says.

And volunteering at a food pantry in her hometown of Lawrence, Mass., Samantha Vargas '22, a sociology major, says "I know the issues these people are facing," "I grew up with those sorts of issues myself. I enjoy volunteering, because I'd like them to have the same sort of opportunities I've found."

To read the full article, go to LinkedIn.com.