To fulfill the Jesuit ideal of being men and women in service to others, during the summer following their freshman year the Scholars explore the problems of hunger, homelessness, and educational inequity in the Boston area through participation in a program modeled after PULSE, Boston College's nationally acclaimed course of study and service. Through their work, Presidential Scholars are challenged to see themselves in relation to acute national problems, to think creatively about the roots of these problems, the nature and efficacy of society's response, and the response that these problems elicit in their own personal and professional lives. Placements in recent years have included the Spectrum Boys' Unit, the Suffolk County House of Correction, Rosie's Place, the Labouré Center, the Italian Home for Children, the Project Bread Hunger Hotline, Haley House, and St. Francis House. In parallel with their service, Scholars read and reflect on a variety of texts--from philosophy, social science, public policy, economics and theology--pertinent to issues of poverty and social justice. Weekly discussion sessions challenge Scholars to integrate these readings with their field experiences and to reflect on the implications for their personal values and professional goals.
Community Service Program
Katherine Wu '08 at Greater Boston Food Bank - Sept. '07
"While there are many events that have happened over my four years at Boston College, because of the Presidential Scholars Program, it is the service project during the summer after my freshman year that I hold as being the fundamental experience of my college years. I came to Boston from what I call my protected and privileged existence in central Pennsylvania. Going in to Roxbury to work at the Food Bank and Sojourner House family shelter opened my eyes, challenged my beliefs and views of the world we live in and the way it should work, and inspired my dedication to service and the study of poverty while at Boston College ... The questions I have asked and the service I have done building upon the summer culminated with the completion of my senior honors thesis on Boston's urban under-class."
Bridget (Shannon) Wiedeman, Carroll School '95
Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School