Releases

"It was harder to come back from Belize than to go there,” says Steve Kucharo (Belize 1996-98) - even though he had the promise of his job at AT&T, where he had worked for ten years after college.  In Punta Gorda, Belize, Steve taught at St. Peter Claver School, and helped with the reading program and sports.  Steve explained that in joining JVC after working in the corporate sector he knew he was making a life-changing decision.

That decision came when, feeling like he wanted to help others, Steve sought counsel from a priest friend at his alma mater, Emporia State University, and ended up accompanying the priest and a group of students to South America.  That experience approximated what Steve was looking for, and when returned he found JVC, applied, and was off to Punta Gorda.

While a JV, he discovered that he had “a feel for teaching and for building relationships with kids and families.”  So when the life-long Kansas native returned, he continued his teaching career and today teaches science to middle school children at Resurrection Catholic School in Kansas City.  Resurrection is in a high-risk area, where parents, many of whom are immigrants, struggle, not unlike the situation in Belize.  Along the way, in 2006, he got a master’s in education at Rockhurst University. 

Steve is involved in community projects – St. Joseph’s Community Garden, coaching chess, and serving on his parish council.  At Bishop Ward High School Steve does public address for sporting events and coordinates a summer science trip, Earth Wind and Fire.   Celia Fox, a Jesuit Volunteer at Bishop Ward in the new JVC Kansas City community, accompanied Steve on the science trip this summer. And so, the Kansan who left for two years to go to Belize, now welcomes a JV to Kansas City.

Steve is involved in starting up the FJV Kansas City Chapter and has represented JVC in fundraising efforts at local parishes.

What advice does he have for JVs who are completing their service this summer?  “Search your heart and do what God is calling you to as your next step.   Stick to the four values – they are good tenets to follow.”