UIW Celebrates 15th Annual Meet the Mission Day
The University of the Incarnate Word has five core values: education, truth, faith, innovation, and service. The continuous and conscious consideration of these core values has helped to guide the school in becoming the institution it has grown into today.
On Friday, September 22, UIW held its annual Meet the Mission Day. Meet the Mission is a day in which UIW staff, faculty, and students go out into the surrounding San Antonio community to aid others in various projects. It is a day rooted in service that brings many together through the shared desire to help better the community.
Meet the Mission began in 2008 under the direction of Professor Emeritus Harold Rodinsky who retired from UIW in 2015. Since that time, over 200 UIW community members engage with over 20 Community Partners in projects annually. These mission-oriented projects include community clean up, elderly visitation, animal care, food pantry reorganization, community garden construction, etc.
Meet the Mission continues the legacy of Dr. Rodinsky who passed away in 2019.
UIW’s Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Dr. Betsy Leverett, currently leads the Meet the Mission project.
“As an event sponsored by the Office of Mission and Ministry, Meet the Mission Day reflects our shared UIW Mission to cultivate our students’ development as enlightened citizens and to support each other and the wider communities of which we are part through service to others,” Leverett explained.
Through this event, UIW hopes to introduce new Cardinals to the joys that come with community service. This has been and continues to be the overall goal of this event. Now, UIW has had the privilege of organizing 15 consecutive Meet the Mission Days.
“I think it (the 15-year continuation of Meet the Mission) speaks to the incomparable generosity of the people involved—our students, faculty, and community partners across the city,” stated Leverett, “Our students are enthusiastic, energetic, and altruistic—they are the most effective ambassadors of UIW that there could ever be! Our community partners who are amazing public servants rave about the work our students do and the joy they bring to it. Of course, the faculty that participate in Meet the Mission each year have been its real engine—there can be no Meet the Mission without our wonderful faculty who accompany UIW students year after year into San Antonio to serve.”
UIW student, Estefania Lammoglia, aided at the San Antonio Food Bank. She explained how she and the other location volunteers helped in the Food Bank’s efforts in feeding the community. With half of the group assembling the pantries, the other half helped arriving families load food goods.
“Without a doubt my favorite moment from the day was seeing how grateful and happy the families were to receive help,” Lammoglia shared, “At one point during the day, a lady came up to me and thanked me for taking the time to volunteer and told me a little about her family and how by doing this we were helping them in a significant way. Knowing that I was able to make not just one family, but several families feel supported and that they are not alone, made me feel very happy.”
With another successful and gratifying Meet the Mission completed, the team is already considering new and exciting ways to expand this event. Overall, Meet the Mission’s goal of serving the San Antonio community still remains at the center of its previous and ongoing efforts.
For more information on Meet the Mission, click here.