It is May of my second year serving as a Lasallian Volunteer. I am getting ready to say a very hard goodbye to the students that I have served, my community that has turned into my family, and the new city that has quickly become my home. As I sit back and reflect on what my years serving as a Lasallian Volunteer have meant to me, my mind always goes back to my students. I recently came across a quote from Mother Teresa, “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” I thought it was important to share this quote because it is what I have tried to encompass as a Lasallian Volunteer. I entered the LV program two years ago, but that two years has really flown by, and now that I am finishing up my time as an LV this quote by Mother Teresa has become even more important to me. Every day that I come to work, I try and show up as my best self for the students that I serve. I do not think that I have completely come around to the fact that my journey in Racine is quickly coming to an end, but I do know that I need to be my best self for the next couple of weeks, no matter how hard that might be at the end of the school year.
“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” As I come back to this quote, I think about the impact that my students have had on me. They have shown me unconditional love, day in and day out, and I go home happier every day because of them. This is how I hope to leave them every day. I hope that I am leaving behind my love and my smile, and I am excited to take with me the love and smiles that they have shared with me.
Madison Caropino is a second-year volunteer serving at John Paul II Academy in Racine, Wisconsin. She is a 2017 graduate of Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga.