USD President's Report 1989

the gulf between rich and poor, Pitard says. " It is so v isual for them. It's in a colonia and they see there's no w ater, no electricity, no trash pick-up, no insulation, sometimes no roofs. These people have nothing. Then our kids see how, with a little bit of time and a little bit of effort, we can make a big dif- ference in their lives." Pitard recalls a poignant moment she shared with a student during one of the trips. " He was a macho athlete kind of guy and he came up to me with tears in his eyes and told me he'd had a 30-minute conversa- tion with a woman, even though he couldn't speak Spanish . They found a way to com- municate, despite the barriers." "One person can make a difference. Two people can make a difference." -MaryE!len Pitard The students also experience revela- tions about happiness, Pitard says. "The kids say, 'These people live maybe 12 people in a place the size of my dorm room, yet they're happy. They're joyful people.' It's very over- whelming ." Preparing and serving meals at the St. Vincent de Paul Center works a similar effect on students. " It is a little bit of reality of what goes on outside of USO," Pitard says. "Students see what hungry people look like. They see it is families with little children, that this problem cuts across the whole fabric of our society."

T H E

EXUBERANT SHEPHERD

The wisdom she gained from the nuns of the San Diego College for Women was a turning point in her life, she says softly, thinking back to more than two decades earlier. The biggest lesson, she analyzes, was learning that women could accomplish anything. Her professors offered living proof. She has followed that long-ago inspiration ever since, managing to com- bine marriage and children with generous service to youth, the homeless, the· hungry-both in parish posts and through USD's Campus Ministry Office.

MaryEllen Pitard '69 speaks with fervent passion when serving others is the topic of conversation . " I try to show students that faith is a gift that's meant to be lived, that we're called to care for each other," she says. ''I've always tried to live by the Bible's advice: 'To whom much is given, much is expected .' Even if we're not giving a lot monetarily, we

can give our time."

She exposes USO students to that message in a real world way when she accompanies them to Tijuana to build homes for the destitute or to the St. Vincent de Paul Joan Kroc Center to prepare meals for the homeless in San Diego. ·The home building excursions across the border in particular awaken students to

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