Inspiring Graduates

Alumna makes service a priority

By Barbara Hein

“With great privilege comes great responsibility,” so says College of Saint Benedict alumna Juliet Govern.  These aren’t just words for this 2004 graduate; they are words she lives by.

Juliet believes students of Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s — both past and present — are blessed by their education and as she says “it’s only fitting that we share what we have learned (at CSB/SJU) to inspire the communities we now call home.”  So Juliet has joined forces with other alumnae/i to organize opportunities for community service among students and alums.

One such recent project involved bringing together more than 20 alumnae/i and current CSB/SJU students to help ease hunger in Haiti.  The group of volunteers spent an evening assembling packets of food to send to Haitian families.  They made enough food packets to feed a family of six for three months.

The packets were similar to the military-type packets of dehydrated food that soldiers are given.  “The food went to Haitian families who would otherwise have only been able to quiet their hungry stomach’s prior to bed with a Haitian biscuit — also known as mud from the local hills mixed with water and baked in the sun,” Juliet explains.

Juliet, who serves as the chair of the Student Preparation Committee for the CSB/SJU Twin Cities Alumnae/i Association Chapter, has also been instrumental in organizing several other community service projects for alumnae/i and students. But she is quick to point out that she and her groups are not alone in their commitment to helping others.

“The stories I share of these amazing graduates are only a few ripples in the awesome affect CSB/SJU has had on the community that is our world,” Juliet proclaims.

“Part of the Benedictine values that are so present on our campus is the commitment to helping others in the community — Juliet and countless other CSB/SJU alums continue to live that value long after they leave here,” Kristin Darnall, Director of Alumnae Relations for the College of Saint Benedict, states. 

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