NDP’s service hour requirement has changed this year to make it more of a “lifestyle” for students. Mr. Pomplon, the service director here at Notre Dame, hopes that the new changes will help girls complete their hours, not just as a requirement, but to continue beyond their years at NDP. The Gateway found out from Mr. Pomplon what exact changes occurred and how students can get their service hours.
What does service mean to you?
“I think service is, and sometimes it’s misconstrued because people attribute service with a requirement and things like that, but service is just about connections. It’s just about connecting with people. You know we’re connecting now. We’re connecting with the Flip right now. You know, it’s about understanding that we’re all interrelated and that we’re very communal driven as just human beings. We strive for connection, and service is that. I mean if you’re connecting with someone whether it’s in the halls of NDP or down at Beans and Bread, or wherever, I think that’s service, I think it’s the same thing. If we’re connected to one another and we care for one another, then we’re making the world a better place.”
What kind of service do you do personally?
“These days I’m mostly doing service with the students. It’s really nice. Our Refugee Youth Project is something we’ve been doing recently, so I’ve been helping tutor elementary school aged children from the Congo, Eritrea and Iraq. So that’s been a lot of fun for me to be a volunteer again. And even working with Club Umoja and all these different programs in house is great. You know, even though I’m directing them a bit. I love the job; like I said before, I love connecting with people. Before I was the director here, I worked for a year out in Alaska with adults with development disabilities, I worked in Appalachia, and yeah, so I’ve done volunteering ever since I was in high school. It gave me a sense of purpose, I guess, in the world to help me understand what I’m good at and what my strengths are.”
What are the new requirements for NDP students for service hours?
“What we’re trying to do with the new requirement is to instill the idea of service as a lifestyle, instead of one year when you’re going out and doing 40 hours. We want service to just be something totally incorporated in your life and continuous, yeah, beyond NDP. So what we’ve done is we’ve taken the 40 hour requirement from senior year, and we spread it out. It’s 60 hours in total now, but it’s 20 hours sophomore year, 20 hours junior year, and 20 hours senior year. So it’s much more manageable for an NDP student who’s probably involved in a lot of different clubs and things. And it’s good because we want you to work to build relationships with the agencies you work with, so if you are working with RYP, you get to know the kids for over three years now, hopefully instead of just the one year.”
To whom should we be directing our service?
“Well, you know my previous answer, if I remember correctly, you know because I said it a few minutes ago…was that service is really intended for everybody, even the people you wouldn’t even think need service. We all need companionship, we all need community. So in some ways we shouldn’t really narrow our focus when we’re doing service. Of course though, for our requirement, we kind of ask that each student gets out and helps someone from a marginalized situation. So basically, everyone always asks what marginalized means; they look at the handbook, and they don’t get it. Marginalized is essentially somebody not having his/her basic needs or rights met on a daily basis by society, society being that abstract kind of collection of people and ideas and values out there. And there are definitely some people in our society who aren’t as recognized as others. We value certain types of individuals with certain attributes, and others are kind of left out. So for NDP, I’d say we should direct our service on, but in the grander sense of things, beyond NDP, I think it’s really appreciating someone on a daily basis, wherever you are.”
What kinds of service are applicable to the Notre Dame community?
“Yeah so you know, it’s working with people I’d say. The nice thing is you have a lot of freedom here at NDP. You can go out and get involved in so many different things. I don’t limit it to just NDP affiliated or NDP sponsored activities. If a student wants to get involved with any type of population, anywhere in the area, or anywhere in the world really; we have students that went to Ghana, that went all the way to New York City, to South Dakota, all over the place. So as long as it’s within the confines of working with someone who’s marginalized, really the world is theirs to explore.”
The adjustment to the service requirement was made so Notre Dame girls would have a life of service, not just a certain number of hours each year. Mr. Pomplon says it is manageable for the typical student here and is very excited for what the girls will be doing. The service options are endless, just go connect with someone, he says.