Bye bye, October!

Hello again, everyone!

I can't believe today is the last day of October, and, of course, that it's Halloween! This month has really flown by with all of the activities and work I've had over the past few weeks, but I wouldn't trade any of my sophomore year experiences for the world.

One thing that's really become full swing in the past few weeks is PULSE, which I mentioned in my last post. PULSE is a class that combines service and learning, using both class time and a service component. The year-long class fulfills all of your Core requirements in Philosophy and theology with the added plus that you only take 4 classes a semester instead of the usual 5, as it counts for 6 credits. During September, each PULSE student goes through an involved process to pick a placement that they're interested in. There's a town hall meeting, where you go to informational sessions about different placements. Then, you can go on tours of different placements to see what each environment is like. Some of the placements are really competitive- one of the ones I was interested in is at Tufts Medical Center. Over 70 PULSE students applied for a placement that only takes 4 students!

Anyway, after that long and stressful process, I ended up picking Casa Nueva Vida, which is located in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, about 5 miles from BC. Casa serves 16 homeless families, which consist of mainly mothers and children, and helps the families get back on their feet. Different classes, like computer skills and English as a second language are offered to help the mothers improve their lives too. As a volunteer at Casa, I've mainly been working with the children, but hope to also develop relationships with the mothers over the course of this year. Two days a week, I get to help the kids with their homework, play with them, and, sometimes, practice my Spanish. It's been a lot of fun so far, and also really eye-opening!

Anyway, HALLOWEEN! Halloween is so much fun at BC- people get really into dressing up and some have really creative costumes. One of my friends, for example, is being a flame, while his roommate is being St. Ignatius...so overall, they're being "Go set the world aflame," which is the Jesuit motto. Some students even wear their costumes to class! Yesterday, in my organic chemistry class, I even saw someone dressed up as a student from Hogwarts in Harry Potter, complete with a full robe and Ravenclaw uniform. It was very funny.

I hope all of you have a fun and safe Halloween!! Until next time,
Lauren