PCPS Newsletter: 'Be the Helpers, Look for the Helpers'
The Panuska College of Professional Studies has created a biweekly newsletter to share the stories of those who answer the "call to care" during the COVID-19 crisis. You can read the entire May 15 issue here.
Here are just a few highlights from the newsletter.
My dear PCPS friends,
David Denotaris, who has been a speaker at our University’s Conference on disABILITY is one of my favorite motivational speakers. He often speaks about faith, family and friends. He’s also been known to reference the beloved Mister Rogers who encourages young people to “Look for the helpers” in life.
That got me thinking. Yes, we need to look for the helpers. But maybe there are times when we need to do even more. A few years ago, I read Ian Bogost’s article in The Atlantic (Oct. 29, 2018) where he discussed that looking for helpers is insufficient at least for adults. As adults, he says, we might take away the wrong lesson from this quote.
For adults, there’s a slightly different twist on Mister Rogers’ famous words. We must BE the helpers. In a world that has been turned upside down by the effects of COVID-19, we, as adults, need to BE the helpers that young people turn to when they are looking for the helpers.
In this issue of our e-newsletter, Call to Care, you will see even more examples of how PCPS undergrad and grad students, faculty and staff, are heeding the call to BE helpers in the spirit of St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits.
Very truly yours,
Dr. Debra Pellegrino, Dean of PCPS
OT Portfolio Day
Held On Friday, May 8, 2020, the Occupational Therapy Graduate Portfolio Day was held via Zoom. There were several 'tables' that included six students and Occupational Therapy faculty. The graduate students shared their most significant experiences during their five or six years. Dr. Carol Coté, Chair of Occupational Therapy, arranged sessions at 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Faculty, families and friends were invited to the nine zoom sessions. It was fabulous to see the evidence of outcomes in leadership, ethics, the Jesuit mission, and service, to name a few objectives.
Music to Get Us Through Finals
Emma Reed, a Secondary Education major with an English concentration from the Class of 2022, sent an email last week to reach out to PCPS students who are preparing for finals. Here is her note.
“I hope you are doing well! I just wanted to send a quick email to you and thank you for your emails. They really do brighten my day and give me hope. I am so proud and happy to be a part of PCPS. It is people like you that remind me why I want to be an educator and woman for others. If there were any education I would want to have it’s a Jesuit education, especially from The University of Scranton.
"There are two songs that I wanted to share with you that I believe would benefit our Scranton community. I always listen to these songs when I am down and need a little push. They truly give me hope and remind me that eventually, things will be ok. One of these songs, "Almost Everything" has a lyric that always pushes me forward: 'It feels bad now but it's gonna get better.'
Artist: Wakey!Wakey!
I hope that these songs inspire you as much as they inspire me and that you share them with my fellow PCPS students. Stay well and inspired!”
