Student Reflections & Projects e Kaitlyn Long
As a Catholic school founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Avila University is dedicated to preparing students to “make meaningful contributions to the global community.” This mission can be seen in effect by examining the first-year seminar course all incoming freshman are required to take. Through an entire semester of classes focused around immigration and the problems that relate to it, students are fully immersed in each of the six major values identified by Avila (Mission and Values, 2017).
The importance placed on “excellence in teaching and learning,” our first value, may come as no surprise, seeing that Avila is an institution of higher education. Even before classes began, students such as myself were already being introduced to the world of immigration through Reyna Grande’s memoir, The Distance Between Us. Reading about the experiences Grande had growing up in a part of Mexico plagued by poverty gave me new appreciation for things I, along with many others, normally take for granted. Above anything, I feel that reading the book humanized immigration for me; immigrants are not numbers that need to be dealt with, they are people who require rescue from situations that put their basic human rights in danger.
Both the value of “right relationships with God, self, others, and creation” and the value of “service with the dear neighbor” are reasons why Avila could become a powerful tool to change hearts about immigration. Immigrants who are trying to come to the United States should not be seen as problems; they are real people with serious problems who have nowhere else to turn. They are our dear neighbors, and we should do everything in our power to help. By educating any who will listen on the truth of immigration and the all that it can do for our economy, our global relationships, and our nation as a whole, Avila’s mission can impact millions.
In a school that encourages “diversity and its expression,” there was no better topic than immigration to showcase the wide variety of backgrounds our students hold. Yessica Ramirez, for example, shared what it was like growing up with two undocumented parents. For Ramirez, there was a constant fear that each day could be the last she would be able to spend with her mom and dad in the United States. Before taking this course, I had not considered the toll being in the country illegally could have on a family. Especially on the kids it would be difficult, knowing what could happen to their parents, but perhaps not fully understanding why. No child should have to be concerned about their family being taken away; unfortunately, it happens all too frequently, even to those in our own community. Although Avila’s third value on the “worth, dignity, and potential of each human being” is broad, a specific example of where this came into play over the semester was when Sr. Jeanette spoke of the objectification of refugees. Although it may happen unintentionally, there is a significant problem in the United States of viewing refugees as things rather than people. To solve this, it is the responsibility of all people, including the students and faculty at Avila, to make a conscious effort not to fall into the same ignorant behaviors. The worth of refugees must not be undermined, their dignity should never be taken away, and their potential must not go unutilized. As Sr. Jeanette said, most refugees wish to help those who have helped them, and it is in their rights and to our benefit that they be allowed to do so. At Avila, the “development of the whole person” is stressed. By being involved in first-year seminar, I have been able to develop stances on political, social, and global issues that held no importance in my life prior to the course. My thoughts on immigration, migration, refugees, and everything in between have been altered by the experience. It has opened my eyes to the truth of immigration policy; there are many faults in how our government functions, but no simple fixes exist. The system is flawed and reform needs to occur, but it will take time for any real changes to happen.
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Major: Pre-Health Professions Hometown: Pleasant Hill, Mo.
