Releases

Nicholas Keeler is a career developer in Albuquerque, New Mexico with Catholic Charities.

What is something that you've learned to appreciate as a Jesuit Volunteer?

If you have the privilege of being a part of JVC, take advantage of this special opportunity in front of you. Take a chance and jump in with your whole heart. Establish only one expectation before your experience. Your year of service will be unique to you and unlike anything you thought you’d expect from a short paragraph in a job description.

I have learned to appreciate waking up in the morning and not quite knowing what the day ahead will bring me.

I appreciate the brisk walk to work, where I find time wander through a maze of streets, and the chance the pause on the commuter bridge as the sun greets the sleeping mountains.

I appreciate each time I sift through the job postings to bring hope to my clients in a frosty economy.

I appreciate the struggle that each broken promise of employment brings and the grace with which participants keep moving forward, letting me know that everything will be okay.

I appreciate my coworkers, who tirelessly journey with participants in pursuit of their dreams and still find some energy to guide me along my path as well.

I appreciate living in a community where I am questioned, tolerated, loved, and shaped into a better person.

I appreciate the nights where our community explores our interests, the ideas around us, and our souls in a setting of trust.

I appreciate long walks, hikes, runs, bike rides, and road trips from our home to an exciting destination or to nowhere in particular.

I appreciate hospitality of a city that did not know me months ago, but through extreme kindness has given me every chance to thrive and grow.

I have learned to appreciate the setting sun’s final luminescent gift of the mountains becoming a spectacular shade of pink and the adventure of tomorrow.