Answering the Call & Embracing Change

At least 9 members of the Class of 2025 have chosen a year of service following their graduation from Gonzaga.

While the rest of their classmates are inevitably starting careers in finance, nursing or any number of other “typical” paths out of college, at least nine members of the 2025 graduating class are stepping out of their comfort zones for at least the next year to serve communities in need.

It’s a deeply impactful and transformative experience, as alumni speaker Jenny Spink (’14, ’23 M.S.N.) told the group at this year’s Social Justice Missioning Ceremony, the final blessing and acknowledgment from the University that what these students are about to do is not only important, but deeply in line with Gonzaga’s mission.

“This ceremony is our special way of offering you love and support as you embark upon your time of service,” said President Thayne McCulloh, delivering the opening remarks. This was McCulloh’s 16th time attending the Social Justice Missioning Ceremony and his 16th year as president – not a coincidence, as he laughingly pointed out. The tradition began with McCulloh as an opportunity to celebrate what is “truly a manifestation of what we talk about, the type of place we are, and the type of people we hope will go forth from this place and impact the world in positive way.”

No one knows better the true weight of an experience in service than an alum who’s already been through it. Spink is a nurse practitioner at a community clinic in Spokane, “one not so different from the one I served in Jesuit Volunteer Corps,” she said. “That early experience shaped not only my professional trajectory, but how I view people, systems and justice.”

Her advice for the students taking their first steps away from Gonzaga and into the unknown was refreshingly honest: “Some of you will love your year. Some of you will hate it. Some of you will do another year of service, some of you will never do anything like it again. All of those paths are valid.

“You are about to enter an extraordinary, challenging, beautiful chapter. You will be pushed. You will be stretched. You will be changed. Let it change you.”

Best wishes to the Zags serving in the following ways:

Isabella Adams – Jesuit Volunteer Corps, San Francisco, Calif.
Celia Connor-Smith – City Year (AmeriCorps), Boston, Mass.
Aundrea Davit – City Year (AmeriCorps), Boston, Mass.
Mikaela Daza – AmeriCorps, Phoeniz, Ariz.
Leonora Fanene – Peace Corps, Samoa
Stephanie Garcia Avila – Teach for America, Richmon, Calif.
Morgan Honner – PACE, Portland, Oreg.
Nicholas Novotny – PACE, Portland, Oreg.
Cedar Price – NALCAP, Andalucia, Spain
Isabel Koerner – Jesuit Volunteer Corps, location TBD