Erin Buckley ’17

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2017

Special Events, Outdoor Volunteer Efforts, and Service Trip Participant

What involvement did/do you have with MOVE? What program did/do you volunteer with and/or lead? What years?
Special Events, OVE, and an Extended Service Trip NYC

What’s your MOVE story?
MOVE was the program that first led me to St. Mike’s. I joined MOVE my first year on the Special Events team, and then added Outdoor Volunteer Efforts (OVE) in the beginning of my junior year. I enjoyed volunteering with other groups in MOVE throughout all four years, and during my senior year I was lucky enough to go on an extended service trip to NYC with MOVE. After graduating, I traveled with a small service group, led by Allison Cleary, to Guatemala.

In what ways did/does MOVE impact you?
MOVE felt like home immediately. It put my experience on campus in the context of the greater community and allowed me to grow my roots in an environment that both supported and challenged my view of what it meant to work in service of others. Through MOVE I met the mentors who would become my lifelong pillars of compassion and empathy—Lara Scott, Fr. Mike, Kate Floyd, Alison Cleary, and Anna Boesch have all taught me the responsibility that comes with being a citizen of this world. The MOVE Office was a constant part of my experience at St. Mike’s and was just as influential as my time in the classroom.

If you are an alumni, what influence does MOVE continue to have on your life today?
MOVE continues to be a powerful and steady force in my life because my time with MOVE allowed me to develop a strong, foundational sense of purpose. Although my professional career post-grad does not relate directly to nonprofit or service work, I find that the people I worked alongside with at MOVE continue to inform my decisions on approaching conflict in all aspects of my life. MOVE was a place in which I felt challenged to take a critical perspective on what my role in the greater community is. I carry the questions that shaped my experience with the MOVE office with me as much as possible. I also carry the joy that MOVE fostered in me—the sharing of food, taking time to slow down, and enjoy learning from each other—continue to be an important part of my life. I hope to be the home that the MOVE office was for me!