June 4, 2009

Briar Cliff Students Gain Perspective While Serving Others

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Briar Cliff University elementary education students and faculty recently completed a service trip to Calhoun City, Miss.

Sister Ruth Schock, Ed.D., OSF, associate professor and chairperson of Briar Cliff’s education department, and Sister Kathy Knipper, Ed.D., OSF, associate professor of education, accompanied on the mission trip BCU seniors Morgan Sullivan, Jackson, Neb.; Frances O’Tool, Sioux City; Kara Greenwell, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa; Lisa Held, Merrill, Iowa;  and Sara Heck, Sioux City.

Students and faculty spent four days assisting in the Calhoun City Elementary School and learning about life in Mississippi, including the educational system, health care issues, immigration issues and politics. 

As a part of their mission work, the BCU team also tutored students in the EXCEL afterschool program in Calhoun City, which is operated by the Sisters of Saint Francis of Dubuque, who work in Calhoun City, Okolona and Morton, Miss. The Franciscan Sisters of Dubuque are the founding community of Briar Cliff.

“Calhoun City offered students opportunities to gain new perspectives on teaching and test teaching strategies,” Sister Ruth added. “They learned that classroom management and timely lesson planning are integral pieces to the elementary school classroom. They also saw how important the relationship is between elementary school teachers and their students. For many children, this is the most important or influential relationship.”

Briar Cliff University is a Catholic institution with an enrollment of more than 1,100 students from 24 states and four countries.  Students are educated in the Franciscan tradition of excellence in the liberal arts and career preparation in an environment of care and compassion. For more information, please visit briarcliff.edu.

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