Digication ePortfolio :: Kelly Heiniger: Appalachia 2015

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Service Learning

University of Notre Dame

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Badge Details

Title: Service Learning
Short Description: Demonstrated excellent engagement in service learning experience in rural Appalachia
Description: Demonstrated excellent engagement in service learning experience in rural Appalachia through a seminar and immersion with Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame
Criteria: Engaging fully with your service learning experience can bring lasting change. Students earned this badge by demonstrating, with creativity, critical thinking, and thoughtfulness, what they learned (and are continuing to learn) through their experience in the Appalachia Seminar.
Issue Date: Jul 17, 2014
Expiration: Never
Evidence: View link

Issuer Details

Issuer: University of Notre Dame

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Hello! I'm Kelly Heiniger and this is my ePortfolio to prepare for and reflect on my fall Appalachian immersion. For one week this October, I have the opportunity to meet the people and experience the beauty of God's creation that is Glenmary Farm in Joppa, TN. This will be my first experience in Appalachia, and I am eager to find out what lies ahead of me, both in this course and in the site I will having the privilege of visiting. The goal of the Appalachia course is to provide engagement and discourse with people and communities throughout the Appalachian range, in order to bring awareness to cultural and social issues faced by the community.

I'm from a military family, and have lived in seven different states, but I call Colorado Springs home. Although Notre Dame has a breathtaking campus, especially when the leaves change in the fall, nothing can quite beat the view of a Rocky Mountain sunset. I'm a neuroscience major in the class of 2018 with a minor in Catholic Social Tradition. After graduation, I plan to attend PT school in order to become a pediatric physical therapist. Children are my absolute passion, where I can so clearly see the light of God. I spent this past summer working at Camp ASCCA (Alabama Special Camp for Children and Adults) in tiny Jackson's Gap, AL and my eyes were opened to a new world. For seven weeks, I was immersed in a 24-hour environment different than anything I've experienced before. I found such genuine beauty in each of my campers, and feel so inspired to work with individuals who have special needs.

I chose to participate in the Appalachia seminar in order to expand my worldview. I want to be familiar with the lives and challenges of individuals only hours away from me. I have been blessed with the opportunity to receive my Notre Dame education, and I want to take every opportunity to reach out and give back to the world. I look forward to meeting the community at Glenmary Farm and hearing the stories of the individuals who call the region home.

"Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor" 1 Corinthians 10:24