John Swickrath, left, tosses a root as Hannah Ison gets ready to dig in to more of the circle garden on Aug. 18.

            Freshmen at Brescia University culminated their four-day New Student Orientation on Tuesday, Aug. 18, by having lunch at Mount Saint Joseph and then doing service projects throughout the community, including at the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center.
            Students integrate into campus life through the First-Year Experience at Brescia, participating in BU 101 courses. During the students’ first year, they learn the rich heritage surrounding the founding of Brescia by the Ursuline Sisters, how to acclimate from high school to college, good study habits, the importance of servant leadership, and much more.
            More than 100 students registered for BU 101, and all but 10 of them headed back into Owensboro after lunch to work at the Daniel Pitino Shelter, Dismas Charities, Girls Inc., Habitat for Humanity, Oasis shelter, and other places. The 10 who remained at the Mount worked on weeding the circle garden in front of the Center.

 

            “I like it, we’re having fun,” said Hannah Ison, an Owensboro High School graduate. “We’ve learned about the Ursuline history and the roots of Brescia, and now we’re actually working with roots.”
            John Swickrath, an instructor and basketball coach at Brescia, was overseeing the two hours of work with his 10 students, all of them sweating under the warm afternoon sun. Each instructor got to choose the community activity, and Swickrath said he enjoys gardening.
                      “It’s good to do something for the sisters, they do a lot for Brescia,” he said.