Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. President | St. John's University website

For 27 first-year students at St. John’s University, a 10-day community service immersion in Costa Rica was an ideal way to live out their commitment to the Ozanam Scholars program.

Led by Domenico Angerosa, Associate Director of the Ozanam Scholars, the St. John’s contingent visited areas in and around the capital city of San José. They volunteered in child care and elderly care centers managed by the nonprofit Fundación Génesis and connected with members of the Vincentian community in Costa Rica, learning about its 13 Houses Campaign aimed at eradicating homelessness.

The students departed for Costa Rica on May 12 and returned on May 22. “Service and volunteering in the community are essential parts of who we are as Vincentians,” Mr. Angerosa said. “It’s a cultural immersion, but it is also a foundational learning experience about what it is to be present within the community and working with vulnerable populations.”

Established in 2007, the Ozanam Scholars program combines service, academic research, and global citizenship inspired by Vincentian lay scholar Frédéric Ozanam. Students accepted into the program receive scholarship assistance and work with faculty and mentors to address pressing social problems. Service immersions are a defining element: past cohorts have worked in Puerto Rico, Ecuador, and Vietnam.

The Costa Rica trip emerged through Mr. Angerosa’s experience living and working there. The country boasts a stable government and the third-largest economy in Central America; however, unemployment is high, and economic prosperity does not extend to all citizens.

The St. John’s contingent worked directly with Costa Rica’s underprivileged through Fundación Génesis (Genesis Foundation), which helps ensure equal distribution of food, health care, and educational resources among children and seniors.

The experience was transformational for students new to the service priorities of the Vincentian community. Ozanam Scholars typically make service trips during their first and third years at the University.

According to Mr. Angerosa, a school day in Costa Rica is only about half as long as one in the United States. Several St. John’s students helped local children ages six months to 12 years by providing structured activities before and after school hours. Others assisted senior citizens with physical or emotional challenges living in community homes because their families could no longer afford their care.

In both cases, students embraced the opportunity to live out St. John’s Vincentian mission.

“I would never have thought that simply hugging a young child would make an impact on his or her life or that sitting down and listening to a senior’s life story would do the same,” said first-year student Loreal Cruz from Bronx, NY, studying International Management at The Peter J. Tobin College of Business. “These small acts were what the community needed on an emotional and spiritual level. I saw faith in action that nourished my spirituality.”

The 13 Houses Campaign follows St. Vincent de Paul’s tradition from 1643 when he built 13 small houses in France for abandoned children. This campaign began in 2017 aims to build homes across 156 countries where the Congregation of the Mission operates to help house some of the world’s homeless population estimated at 1.2 billion people.

In Costa Rica, St. John’s Ozanam Scholars embraced this challenge along with others.

“As an Ozanam Scholar, we are encouraged to dig deeper to find ways to assist better the communities we serve,” Loreal said. “Yes, do the service but also ask important questions and allow yourself to be uncomfortable—change is not made within comfort but rather on its outskirts.”