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SALT LAKE CITY — Juan Diego Catholic High School seniors got a chance this month to get out of the classroom and spend a week in the community volunteering at 30 local charities. It was a life-changing experience for many of the 234 seniors.
There's no shortage of great stories and advice on life at the Salt Lake Veterans Home. After visiting with a handful of those veterans, Juan Diego senior Max Harper described those stories as "really, really powerful."
And the 19 other Juan Diego seniors who chose to volunteer at the Veterans Home are just as impressed and humbled by their week of service. "They're just being so well taken care of, so well respected, it's exactly what they deserve," Judi Bruggeman said.
Harper was humbled by the service these men and women gave to our country. "Being here, serving them, I just feel like I want to be here some more just to help them since they helped us to be who we are today," he said.
Juan Diego teachers and administrators wanted to immerse the high school's seniors in this volunteer experience just months before the students' graduation into the real world.
At the Veterans Home, state officer Todd Hansen could not be more impressed. "There's so much that you can do to lift and brighten the spirits of the people that we care for here and these students are doing that," he said.
At Juan Diego, those who developed the service project were hoping students might connect with people in different, often more challenging situations.
At the Veterans Home, as students listened to World War II Army signalman Merrill Franklin play the piano, they realized these are people who still have a lot to give and contribute to society.
"It's definitely more hands on than I've ever been in any other service project I've ever done," said Bruggeman.
Juan Diego spiritual and academic leaders asked seniors to follow Pope Francis' words when he said, "Go out and be with one another."
Senior Jake Wilkins who volunteered at St. Joseph's Villa, a nursing home and health care center in Salt Lake City, told KSL, "It's a very unique opportunity that Juan Diego has given us."
Wilkins helped residents make musical memories. He put a playlist of heavy metal music together for a younger resident at St. Joseph's. "We all go smiling and rocking out to the music. We even painted our nails black for it," said Wilkins.
Sharing of themselves to bring joy and comfort to others was a primary goal of the week-long service project. Wilkins described it this way, "We're trying to help people to have a happier life where they are, wherever they may be."
Volunteer Blair Saunders shared guitar music she composed with St. Joseph's residents, and their happiness with the gesture could be seen in their smiles and nods.
St. Joseph's Villa's director of recreation Mariana Ahlers said the students often find inspiration in their volunteerism. "They see there's a lot of opportunity here in a building like this with these populations to serve and work and love."
Students who chose to volunteer at the Utah Aids Foundation will be spending more than just a week on the project they've started.
Senior Halston Van der Sluys spent the week helping to design a website for young adults to learn more about sexually transmitted diseases. "I have experience with advertising and social outreach that I wanted to put my knowledge to the test in a real world situation," he said.
Katie Growe, another Juan Diego senior, also worked on the project. "So many teenagers and young adults don't know that much about their bodies but they're too embarrassed to ask," Growe said.
The students hope to have their "Get Smart" website online this month. "Working on this campaign, it feels cool because it's not just that we're helping people right now, we're going to help people in the long run by spreading information," said Growe.
Many of these students are planning on spreading the word of God in body and spirit long after this "transforming experience." "I hope to come here (Veterans Home) more often after this service project is done because meeting all these veterans, I just can't leave," said Harper.
