Stories

Like a chiseled gemstone, every individual has multiple facets to their identity. Yet we as humans are often so engulfed by our own experiences and stories that we overlook those who live and breathe on the margins of society. Santa Clara University attempts to alleviate this problem. As part of their academic coursework, SCU students are required to participate in an Experiential Learning for Social Justice (ELSJ) course, the majority of which are facilitated through the Ignatian Center’s Arrupe Engagement program. By partnering SCU students with local, non-profit organizations, Arrupe Engagement provides student learning experiences from the perspective of solidarity with marginalized communities. Through these placements, students apply their classroom knowledge to real world issues existing within the greater community. SCU creates a more compassionate, just world by enlisting students’ time and commitment towards social justice work during their academic career. Sometimes, these engagements foster an ongoing dedication towards social justice issues and impact the students’ vocational path.

This vocational and life discernment came to one SCU alumni while completing her ELSJ requirement, and ultimately led to her career. Christine Frea '12, Principal at St. Lawrence Elementary and Middle School, recalls, “During my senior year, I was an intern with Catholic Charities as part of the Children, Youth, and Family Development course at SCU. My mom was an educator, so I always knew I liked education, but it was working with the students at College Connections which made a big impact on my life and reaffirmed my desire to become a teacher after I graduated from SCU.”

This wasn’t the only ELSJ placement Christine completed. “Another placement I completed during my sophomore or junior year was at Escuela Popular, a school for young adults who haven’t received their high school diploma. I found that experience really moving, knowing that not everybody has access to education. Education as a basic right, is a way to transform communities.”

Christine was not oblivious to the fact that education as an institutional system is not equitable to all, especially marginalized communities. Although she grew up in California, she acknowledged how attending college was a difficult transition. However, service engagement at SCU was what restored her sense of self. Christine, like other students at SCU, often felt that her life at the university took place in a bubble. However, community service programs such as Arrupe Engagement help students remain humble about their own privilege and compassionate to others who often are neglected by society. In referring to her placements while at SCU, Christine describes candidly, “I think it got me out of my bubble and didn’t stop with just one placement. It was the thing that opened up doors for me to remember what I was passionate about before.”

St. Lawrence Elementary & Middle School, where Ms. Frea is the principal, became an ELSJ placement site for SCU students in 2022. While expressing the tangible impact of SCU students on her own students, Christine’s poised disposition loosens and her eyes glint with warmth. “It inspires me and re-energizes me because it makes me think about the ripple effect that a university like Santa Clara and the Arrupe program can have in our communities.” Despite graduating and moving on from Santa Clara University and the Arrupe program, Christine understands the lasting impact the program had on her and on the larger San Jose community. “Some of these SCU students might just volunteer because it is a requirement at Santa Clara and may pursue something completely different, but they’re still making waves and changing the lives of the students here.” 

- Jacqui Jones '23