We chatted with the 4Boston Council

As a Jesuit university, BC has an innumerable ways to give back to our community, but there are a few service groups on campus that are especially highly sought after than 4Boston.

For those of you who have friends in it, they probably rave about their placement and all of the “coffee dates” they go on.

We sat down with 4Boston Council member Emily Sokol to hear about her experience being involved in the organization throughout her BC career, and her transition from active member to council person.

Can you tell me a little bit about your placement?

Marian Manor is a nursing home in South Boston run by the Carmelite Sisters. It has over 300 residents and ranges in care from PT and rehab to assisted living, full time care and everything in between. I’ve been serving there since freshman year.

Starting the year before my freshman year the 4B group created “Senior Prom.” Everyone gets to get dressed up and we have an afternoon full of amazing food, dancing, sing alongs and it is the liveliest time of the year for Marian.

How much time a week do you spend on 4B related activities?

There’s four weekly hours of service involved and an hour of reflection for my small group.  There is then an hour of council reflection, and an hour of LT (Logistics Team) which talks about all of the behind-the-scenes 4B stuff. You cannot forget the coffee dates with small group members, council members and the hours I spend telling me roommates about all of that.

What is your favorite part of 4B even before being on council?

The people. In my placement and also as a part of the 4B community. It is very easy at placement to fall in love with the residents. You see them every week and they put smiles on my face as much as I do for them. My placement is the highlight of my week every week.

Emily and the other Marian volunteers

4B has many different placements, how do you feel like it’s a community on campus when they are all so separate?

The BC 4B community are so dedicated to the work they do, the people that they serve and truly are interested in getting to know the people that they interact with.

As a volunteer I felt very close with my small group and did not know about other placements unless I had friends who talked about them. One of my goals in being on Council was personally to get to know all of the placements more. I also wanted to help other 4B volunteers get to know the other placements.

How has being on Council changed your perspective on 4B? (Or has it not)

I feel like I have gotten to know the different placements better and the people in them. One way I did this was through running the “Humans of 4Boston” page on our social media accounts. I get to sit down with volunteers or Council people and hear about their stories from placement and then I am able to share that with both the 4B and greater BC community through this page.

The 2015-2016 4B Council

What is your most memorable 4B moment?

Definitely Prom. Both my freshman and sophomore year. It’s just so fun to see the residents get excited about it. We as volunteers spend the entire day together at Marian.

They announce prom King and Queen which is always adorable. There was also a conga line with everyone pushing wheelchairs. It’s such an uplifting environment to be in.

Thank you to all of 4Boston for representing BC in such a positive way throughout the greater Boston area.