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April 12, 2007
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In serving others, Beth Huggins
realizes ‘just how big God is’ |
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Name: Beth Huggins
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Parish: Our Lady of Lourdes, Milwaukee
Favorite movie: “Born into Brothels”
Book recently read: “The Blindfold’s Eyes” by Dianna Ortiz
Favorite quotation: “We may all start at different places but, as people seeking to follow the way of liberation of justice, we will arise together as we learn to walk with one another. One, in the struggle.” — Mev Puleo (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero) |
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While some college students her age are still admiring their tans from spring break or worrying about tests and papers, Beth Huggins has something much larger on her mind, something drastically different from the everyday worries of a typical college student. At the top of her list: planning a summer trip to the Gulf Region to aid in the volunteer effort, and figuring out a way to get healthy water to the inhabitants of Latin America.
“When I started volunteering, when I started to be with people who were really different than me, something changed in me,” said Huggins, a sophomore at Mount Mary College. “I realized that I wanted to continue giving more.”
Huggins, 20, has. The St. Louis native came to Milwaukee to obtain a degree in art therapy and theology from Mount Mary. Along the way she has added several other activities to her resume, including participation in the School Sisters of Notre Dame’s Global Partners, Running Waters, Inc., volunteering with immigrant rights in Milwaukee, spending a month in Missouri learning about migrant farm workers, attending the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and interning with the Notre Dame Sisters’ justice and peace office. Her work with Global Partners took her to Guatemala this year for spring break, an experience that struck a particular chord in her passion for Latin America.
“I wanted to see the places that we’ve been talking about all the time,” Huggins said of the experience. “It was really great to see what these people were living with — walking three hours a day just go get water.
“There’s a responsibility to come back and share the stories. Yes, I could say no, but if somebody doesn’t go, those stories never are shared. Everybody can’t go to Guatemala. If people don’t know about the realities that are there, change won’t happen. Even if we don’t have the same religion, there’s something deep down that connects us,” she said.
Huggins felt that connection particularly on a November trip to the social justice teach-in at the School of the Americas in Georgia.
“I really was able to put together the stories that I’ve heard with the people who were there,” Huggins said. “I became a lot more aware about the realities of the U.S. and Latin America. These weren’t just horrible things that were happening; we were kind of involved in it.”
The event got even more personal for Huggins when one of her friends crossed the line and was arrested.
“She’s going to jail April 17,” Huggins said. “How is it possible for someone to be put into jail for exercising their First Amendment rights? We’re locking them up with hardened criminals at the cost of taxpayers.”
For Huggins, each volunteering experience is not just an act of social justice, but rather, hits a personal note, resounding not only in the hearts and lives of others, but also in her faith life.
“It was really when I started volunteering in high school that my faith started to mean something,” Huggins said. “Going to church on Sunday and receiving the sacraments didn’t mean as much until I was able to give myself to other people.”
Huggins began her volunteer work at Notre Dame High School in St. Louis, developing a Shalom Club, an organization that has grown out of the School Sisters of Notre Dame International Network for Justice and Peace. Huggins is also in the process of developing one at Mount Mary. It is through these experiences, that Huggins is able to further develop her faith.
“With the experiences I’ve been given, I’ve been able to make my faith personal,” Huggins said. “It was working with people that are poor that I’ve found God, and I’ve been able to continue working with people all over the country. My faith has grown along with that — meeting more and more people, and seeing different realities and how different people see life. It helps you realize how big God is.”
Realizing how big God is, according to Huggins, is something she’s able to see with every person she meets.
“I’m more and more aware of relationships and the deeper meaning they add to my daily life,” Huggins said. “Maybe I’m not going around saying a prayer all the time, but I’m aware that with every person I meet, there’s something deeper to that.” |
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