Last year, I was offered the opportunity to attend the Franciscan Justice Leadership conference, hosted by FAN (Franciscan Action Network) alongside multiple other SBU students and a few members of the University Ministries and Mt. Irenaeus teams.
This conference made me feel a lot. It was my first time in Washington D.C. and my first real trip away from home without my parents and I had only known the people on the trip for about a month and a half at that point. I had no idea if I’d be able to fit in well enough to qualify myself to even be on the trip. I was experiencing a significant amount of anxiety, but in the end, it turned out to be a life changing experience.
This was the trip that solidified my relationship with Claire Fisher and Nat Merrill. I wanted to be their friend so badly from the time I met both of them, but I didn’t know how to enter their lives. Low and behold, we had a bonding experience one of the nights after the full day of conference happenings, and I realized how much I wanted to keep them both in my life.
The day that we went into the city, I had my first experience on a subway and throughout it, I was grinning from ear to ear in enjoyment. I felt so loved during this time and I was learning that my Bona family is there to support me.
Fast forward to fall break 2024, and I am in D.C. yet again, but with a different group of students. I am, again, lobbying on Capitol Hill, but this time I am encouraging my local representative to sign a bill to support an amendment to the Farm Bill that would provide workers with more breaks, particularly when working in high-heat areas.
We educated ourselves on this bill before heading to our congressional visits and learned how to speak in a non-violent way.
The conference, in general, was meant to encourage conversations between generations and those in religious life and lay-people. I love getting to hear from people from different backgrounds and life experiences; being in a Franciscan context only heightened this. Many people at FJLC were not Catholic, but many of us identified as being Franciscan.
I truly enjoyed getting to spend time with new people and growing in my knowledge of issues facing our nation.
Remember during this election season to make your voice heard and vote! By speaking to my local representative, I feel more involved in the government and like I am helping my community.