The University participated in the 11th annual University Service Day, a day in which students, alumni and faculty went to various service sites to work in community service.
The day of service is the culminating event of Founder’s Week and took place the day after the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul, the patron saint of the University.
According to Lucy Pesce, Executive Director for Mission at the Office of Vincentian Mission, more than 1,000 students participated at the Queens campus at a little more than 100 sites around the metropolitan New York area.
Pesce said while the number of students may not have increased drastically from last year, she said the diversity of the students did.
“This year we had a lot more freshman than usual,” she said.
Oscar Diaz, Vice President of Student Government, Inc., was sent to work with Give Kids the World Village for the day of service.
According to Diaz, the University and Give Kids the World, have a close relationship, sending different students every year to Florida, to work with terminally-ill children.
“This is a cause we strongly stand behind,” he said. “During University Service Day we made a ton of cards that will put smiles on the faces of the children and their families.”
Joseph Reis, a junior and member of the Catholic Student Community worked at the Catholic Charities Home for the day. Reis explained he spent the day working with high functioning mentally disabled adults through activities such as arts and crafts and games.
“Even though we got beat at Candy Land and Wii bowling,” Reis joked, “We shared in laughter and learned about how incredible each and every one of those adults are.”
Angelique Hassanein, a first time participant in University Service Day and a member of Gamma Phi Beta, worked to renovate the Catholic Charities Regina Residence in Merrick, Long Island.
Hassanein said she felt the service had a positive impact, not only on the people they were serving, but on herself as well.
“It was enjoyable to do something good for others and at the same time I had this amazing rewarding feeling,” she said.
