2016 Albert Le May Award for Service to the Hispanic Community Recipient

Carter Boyd

Carter did over 900 hours service as an undergraduate. Domestically, he worked at St. Adalbert’s in South Bend as a catechism teacher for three semesters, assisted guests from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic at an SSLP at Lazarus House Ministries in Massachusetts one summer, and volunteered in his home city of Shreveport, Louisiana with Spanish speaking youth at St. Catherine’s Community Center another summer. Internationally, he volunteered at the shelter Niño Poblano Hospital in Puebla, Mexico and worked with Peruvian youth with disabilities in his International Summer Service Learning Program in Lima.

Carter’s reflection:

My service with the impoverished Hispanic community through the ministries of Lazarus House in Lawrence, Massachusetts began at a time my Spanish skills were still developing. In my time there, I gradually became comfortable engaging the guests in Spanish at lunch in the soup kitchen. I recall a man I met who had recently arrived from the Dominican Republic knowing little English in hopes of finding work and saving money to bring his family to the United States. Instead, he found himself unemployed, impoverished, undocumented, and battling drug addictions. The relationships I formed remind me of the inherit dignity of every human person and the respect and rights each person deserves. My interaction with this community stimulated my studies of the Spanish language so that I could more fully serve this community in the future as a physician, dedicated to serving the marginalized in our society including Hispanic immigrants here in the United States. 

Likewise, my time in Peru was meaningful serving children with disabilities. I did not serve the children in the typical sense in that we think of doing volunteer work but rather more simply sharing time and friendship with them. While from our standards, the children suffered from severe mental disabilities, it is hard to tell if from their perspectives they are suffering at all. The children loved music, rhythm, and movement. Dance was their way to express themselves, their thoughts, their feelings, and their souls. Dance was their gateway into a reality greater than the limitations of their disabilities and a means of entering a mystical existence. I learned from the children, to live with joy, despite the trials that come with daily life. Collectively, these experiences taught me the importance of sharing time with people, building relationships, and experiencing the beauty of people from different cultures, native tongues, and nationalities. Because of these profound service experiences, I am passionate in my commitment to serve the underserved Hispanic populations in the United States after I complete my medical education.

2016 Mara Fox Awards for Service to the Hispanic Community Recipients

Elizabeth Hillman

As a freshman, Elizabeth did Spanish CBL 20810 (Spanish Language, Culture and Community). She went on to volunteer in South Bend at Healthlinc where she assisted the clinic with Spanish-speaking patients. She also completed two SSLPs: one in Connecticut and the other in Michigan, where both times she worked with immigrants. At home in Lansing, Michigan she tutored elementary students at Cristo Rey. She also did an ISSLP at a clinic in Antigua Guatemala and volunteered with the Spanish Red Cross when she studied in Toledo Spain for a semester. 

Elizabeth’s reflection:

“If you move your thumbs like this, you will be able to pick faster”, Veronica, a migrant farmworker told me within the first few minutes of my eleven hour shift picking blueberries. As a health clinic volunteer serving the Latino farmworker population, I desired to better understand the lives of the patients I was serving and interact with the community in a more intimate way, so I worked in the fields and assisted with health outreach at migrant camps two nights a week. As I picked berries with Veronica, she expressed worries about one of her 12 younger siblings in Mexico who was suffering from breast cancer and her son who switched schools frequently since they moved between Michigan and Florida each harvest season. She carried her burdens without an ounce of self-pity and focused intently on the well being of her family. Veronica gave me a newfound understanding of hard work and humility. I donated my wages to Veronica, but it only amounted to half the wage she earned for herself because I was not as skilled at berry picking as she was.

Working in the fields and sitting in the kitchens of migrants during outreach visits taught me how to humble myself in service to others and treat others with dignity. After laboring side by side with the farmworkers, we shared a newfound respect for each other, which led to more personal interactions at the migrant camps and the health clinic. Working with the migrant population has deepened my commitment to serve the medical needs of this population. It gave me a glimpse at the everyday life of the people I plan to serve as a doctor. Service has taught me that being a doctor is about more than treating patients’ symptoms; it is about understanding patients and investing interest in the well being of others. Picking blueberries with Veronica was one of many steps on my lifelong journey to know, love, and serve the Latino population. 

Elle Maureen Newcome

Elle completed almost 1,200 hours of service through Friends of the Orphans which is a Notre Dame club that supports Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos orphanage in Honduras, her capstone project for Poverty Studies minor, two Summer Service Learning Programs where she worked with Latinos in South Carolina and Arizona, at the National Paraplegic Hospital of Toledo Spain, through a Institute for Social Concerns’ seminar on Global Health in Tegucigalpa Honduras, and at the Casa de Acogida in Gijón Spain through a Nanovic service grant.

Reflection: A Moment of Grace

The most influential moment in my discernment of the medical vocation occurred in a welcoming examination room at Volunteers in Medicine, Hilton Head Island, a community clinic that addresses the needs of the medically underserved population. 

A middle-aged woman from Uruguay entered the room, where I was to translate for Dr. Aran, an immigrant from South Africa. After examining the woman, Dr. Aran stood quiet before gently asking, “Who is your support system here? To whom do you go when you need help?” 

The patient shook her head. Her eyes welled with unspoken emotion, and her shoulders dropped under the genuine tenderness of the inquiry. Doctor Aran placed her hands upon those of the woman, and looked her in the eyes, speaking, “I, too, am not from America. I, too, came here against my will. I resisted, and it was a difficult transition. This community surprised me with the amount of love it poured upon me. I hope you experience this love too. You have so many people relying on you at home. Thank you for taking care of yourself today, so that you can be strong for others.”

Peace sat heavy in the air, and grace enveloped me. The women embraced. In this moment, I felt undeniably called to the medical profession. Doctor Aran’s vulnerability with the patient was a beautiful example of how a medical provider can address both the physical and emotional needs of a patient. Through sharing the gift of language, I was blessed to be part of such a healing moment.

The medical profession is conducive to integration of service and daily life. In the future, I aspire to live and work in a low-income Spanish-speaking neighborhood as a physician. I seek to establish meaningful relationships with neighbors and contribute to the community in which I live. Through working with the Hispanic community, I learned the importance of providing culturally appropriate care. Overall, I am grateful for the support and opportunities provided to me by the University of Notre Dame. It is a blessing to attend an institution whose dedication to Catholic Social Teaching makes manifest in social engagement. Thank you.