Her heart-felt comments reflect those of other students in Micah House. Burke is one of 22 SLU freshmen participating in Micah House, a first-year program that combines academics, community service and shared living experiences in a newly renovated area of Clemens Hall. Students spend three hours a week assisting children and low-income residents in the Shaw neighborhood, a historic section of south St. Louis famous for its big trees and large homes. Some Micah House freshmen are tutoring grade-school students, others are helping immigrants adjust to life in the United States, while some are working with the disabled and assisting residents with neighborhood problems.
Students are committed to the project for at least one year.
The hope is that they will stay committed for life. Neighborhood schools and agencies participating in the program include Cornerstone Center for Early Learning and the New Horizon Center, Sherman Community Center and School, Mason Elementary School, St. Margaret of Scotland School, St. Margaret's Housing Corporation, and the Neighborhood Stabilization Team's office at McKinley Classical Junior Academy. We also wanted to choose an area where students would be relatively safe and where the problems weren't so great that the students just couldn't make an impact. Besides helping in the neighborhood, students in Micah House must enroll in a series of integrated classes philosophy and theological studies in the fall semester and English and psychology in the spring. These courses offer an academic reflection on peace, justice and social action.