Campus Life

Service

Pope Francis

You too, dear young people, can be joyful witnesses of His love, courageous witnesses of His Gospel, carrying to this world a ray of His light.

As human beings, we “can only find ourselves through a sincere gift of self,” as St. John Paul II said. Giving of oneself through service is an opportunity to participate in the charity and servant leadership of Christ, and it brings students into an essential encounter with people from all walks of life. This exchange helps them recognize the dignity of all persons and better understand God, themselves, and others. Through outreach to people and communities in Nashville and beyond, students learn personal and civic responsibility and are transformed in ways they do not always expect. The goal at St. Cecilia is that service becomes a way of life, for by it our students become Christ’s hands and feet in the world.

The goals of the service program at SCA are two-fold:

To develop a love of service so that it becomes a way of life.
To encourage respect for the dignity of the human person and cultivate a spirit of gratitude through person-to-person service.

Overview of the Service Program:

Freshman Year: Service Begins at the Home — Freshmen may serve with or for their family or their teachers and staff at their second home, SCA.
Sophomore Year: Discovering Paths of Service — Sophomores are introduced to the idea of giving back to the Nashville community by serving various underserved and/or underprivileged populations and attending the Sophomore Service Retreat.
Junior Year: Committing to Service — In religion class, juniors reflect on their experience of service and begin narrowing their focus and commitment to one population or organization.
Senior Year: Service as a Way of Life — Seniors will develop the SHIELD (Serving Humbly In Every Living Deed) project, a reflective project that encapsulates their experience serving at their chosen site(s) that focus on a specific population or organization. Seniors will share their reflections with SCA and challenge themselves and others to embrace service as a way of life.

Service Requirements:

Freshmen are expected to complete a minimum of 10 hours of "at-home" service per semester. “At-home” service may take three forms: service “for your family”, service “with your family” and service “for your SCA family”.
Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors are expected to complete a minimum of 10 hours of service per semester. Required service must be in-person service for underserved and/or underprivileged populations.
- Those who are underserved/underprivileged include: children who are poor/at risk, the sick/dying, the ignorant (service by tutoring at-risk youth or ministering), refugees, the disabled, elderly, hungry, poor.