Helping students serve the community year round.

When a good deed is being planned at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, chances are that Kathryn Cody is behind it. As the Director of SJC’s Mercy Center, Kathryn’s name seems to pop up whenever conversation turns to the topic of community kindness.

“I’m a firm believer that serving the community is a part of our human responsibility. When we serve others, it’s not an act of going above and beyond, it’s essentially the bare minimum of what we should be doing. When we serve the community, we serve ourselves, because we are all a part of this one global community. We are called to love and serve our neighbor, and the more frequently that we follow through on that call, the better off we and our community will be.”

Among the many service opportunities that punctuate the Saint Joe’s calendar, Kathryn gets to organize the annual Apple Pie Baking & Thanksgiving Box distribution – one of her favorite events, now in its tenth year at the College. On the other side of winter in Maine, the Spring Break Workfest also has a special place in her heart.

“Spring Break Workfest is by far my favorite event. It isn’t just about community service, it’s about transformation. Every year our students depart excited about the opportunity to help others and serve others, and as corny as it sounds, they end up receiving so much more than they were able to give (their words, not mine!). Our students return with a revised world view and an energy that is unmatched. It’s difficult to put into words, but again and again our students return transformed, revitalized, and with an excitement about contributing to good in the world.”

The Mercy Center is SJC’s center for social justice, ministry, and community engagement. Kathryn and the Mercy Center team encourage and promote student development through community engagement opportunities, social justice advocacy and awareness, domestic and international immersion opportunities, liturgical celebrations, retreats, spiritual direction, interfaith services, and pastoral counseling.

“Our students are the absolute best advocates for the community engagement opportunities offered by the Mercy Center. I could rave all day about how wonderful our opportunities in the Mercy Center are – but it means so much more when students hear it from other students! We rely heavily on the leadership of our students and their ability to encourage their peers to participate and get involved.”

The primary focus of Kathryn and the Mercy Center is the well-being of each person in the SJC Community. With multiple opportunities throughout the year for students to get involved and jump outside their comfort zone, the Mercy Center offers opportunities throughout the year that invite students to build community and promote good in the world. Asked about a favorite memory of working with students giving back to the community, Kathryn had so many she could (her words!) “write a book.”

“I have too many! But I’ll share one favorite memory. My second year working in the Mercy Center I joined one of our Spring Break Workfest groups – the Philadelphia team. Our team was staying with a nonprofit in the Kensington neighborhood. Our first night, one of our students was in tears – she felt out of her comfort zone, uncertain, unsafe, and unprepared for the week ahead. We spent the week serving in our community, in local shelters, food pantries, soup kitchens and schools. Each night we would join together for an evening reflection, and I observed as this particular student slowly became more and more open and comfortable with the group. My favorite moment came at the end of the week, where that same student was in tears again at our final reflection – this time, in tears of gratitude and joy as she shared with our group everything that the week had given her. I’ve witnessed moments such as this again and again on our service immersions – being a witness to the transformation of our students’ experience is by far the greatest reward of this work for me.”

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