Kate Spielbauer, DSHA ’21, has a passion to give of herself in service to populations that are often forgotten or isolated in society — specifically the elderly. Working with this population — a population to which the Salvatorians are also dedicated — led her to serve at St. Anne’s Salvatorian Campus throughout her four years at DSHA. Her commitment to St. Anne’s earned her the Salvatorian Service Award from the Sisters of the Divine Savior in 2021, but also the DSHA Alumnae Service Scholarship for the 2020–2021 school year, which ultimately helped her serve with more confidence and purpose.
Forging Connection with the Often Forgotten
By Madeline Zukowski, DSHA ‘11
For six months straight, Kate Spielbauer, DSHA ’21, accompanied and sat with St. Anne’s Salvatorian Campus resident Mel while he ate his dinner. A man with a big heart to match his personality, Mel is a 75-year-old Polish former pastor who loves to talk food. “He makes jokes that his Polish food is so much better than American food. One of his friends visited one day and brought Polish pastries like paczki that I was able to try. His Polish food is superior, I’ll admit,” Spielbauer said with a chuckle, demonstrating an authentic love and care for her friend Mel. Since Spielbauer entered DSHA in 2017, she has served at St. Anne’s Salvatorian Campus, a nursing home and assisted living facility for people of low socio-economic status that is sponsored by the Sisters of the Divine Savior. Between running bingo, playing card games, working in the garden, and planning the famous St. Anne’s Prom for residents and DSHA/MUHS students, Spielbauer spent one-on-one time with residents who don’t have visitors often, forming friendships with them. “Besides the friends in the nursing home or a few outside friends, they don’t have much human interaction,” Spielbauer said of most of the residents. “I like to think that I was that human interaction for them. It brightens their day, makes it a little easier, and excites them.” Living out the Salvatorian core value of the preferential option for the poor, Spielbauer prefers to serve those who are vulnerable in society. Besides working weekly with the elderly, periodically she collected toiletries from her neighbors and community, donating them to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission,
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