These past four years at Marquette University have blessed me with the resources and outlets to interact with and serve the immediate Milwaukee community. I was raised on the values selflessness and fortitude, and my ability to channel these tenets gives me an understanding of my role as a student. The education that I am receiving has the power to better more than myself- it has potential to help others. The more I learn, the more people I may be able to reach and help.
I've seen this understanding manifested in things that I am involved in today. For example, my role as a teaching assistant was made possible because of my interest and passion for human anatomy. While I get to explore what makes us human, I also get to extend my knowledge to students taking the class who are exploring the same thing. Seeing the faces of students transition from dazed and confused to raised-brows and smiles when they make sense of the subject matter shows me the impact that I am having.
One of the missions of the Marquette family as a whole is service to the community, and also to the world. Back in 2003, the first medical brigaders went to Honduras with the Marquette mission in their hearts. They were fortunate enough to have the resources and education they needed to provide themselves a comfortable life. However, they also knew that there was more to that. They knew that their resources and education had the power to affect more than themselves, and year after year, eleven years later, the impact of that group's first mission is still felt around the world.
Now, I have the chance to walk in their footsteps and extend my solidarity beyond Marquette and Milwaukee borders.