One of the factors that influenced my decision to attend Creighton was its focus on service and social justice. The Jesuit value “Women and Men for and with Others” resonated with me, and I looked forward to doing service at Creighton, especially as I had never engaged in service work before.

My first service experience was Project Homeless Connect Omaha (PHCO) during my freshman year.

PHCO is essentially a day during which people from homeless shelters around Omaha come to the Kiewit Fitness Center at Creighton where they have access to a wide range of services such as medical, dental and vision check-ups, social security services, immunizations, counseling services, hair care and showering facilities, among others.

My role was a navigator, which consisted of assisting one guest at a time, helping them fill out the various forms and guiding them toward the booths they wished to visit.

Because I am multilingual, I registered myself as a translator, though I doubted that there would be any need for a French or Urdu translator.

To my surprise, soon after my shift started, I heard my name on the loudspeaker: there was a request for a French translator.

It turned out one of the guests was a lady from the Republic of Congo, and she did not speak anything but French. She was quite nervous about going through the different booths as she found it difficult to understand what was going on. As I guided her toward the different service booths, I got to learn her story — she told me she held undergraduate and Master’s degrees from Congo, and that she had a husband and children that she left back home.

She had been living in the United States for a few months by that point, trying to learn English and find a job. 

I was struck and humbled at the same time by her grit and bravery — here I was, thinking that I was brave for coming all the way to Omaha, complaining about my classes, when this woman had been through untold hardships and she was still refusing to give up, trying her best to get on her feet and help her family.

When she hugged me before leaving, thanking me profusely for having helped her access the services that she needed, I felt a kind of fulfillment I had never felt before — it was both moving and sad at the same time.

I was happy that I happened to be at the right place at the right time, but I was also saddened by the fact that such problems exist in the first place — that a well-educated woman was forced to leave her family and country mid-life, trying to start a new life in an unknown place where she feels insignificant because she cannot understand the language.

I set out thinking that I was going to help someone, but in fact, I am the one who was changed by her — she opened my eyes to injustices that I, and many of my peers, may never know. She inspired me with her strength and spirit.

Now that I am getting ready for my first service and justice trip during fall break, I am looking forward to what I’ve been told is a transformative experience. I hope to learn more about social justice issues and how they can be overcome.