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November 25, 2024, Washington, D.C. – For more than 50 years, NETWORK, a social justice advocacy group, has been working with Catholic Sisters and other people of faith to lobby for social justice in national public policies, grounded in Catholic social teachings. What began in 1972 as an organization training Catholic Sisters to lobby for justice in the political sphere now extends to training the next generation.
“We have a long history of working with college and high school students over our 52-year history,” said Chelsea Puckett, Grassroots Mobilization Outreach and Education Specialist. In the Fall of 2023, NETWORK launched the Young Advocates Leadership Lab (YALL), with chapters of college student advocates established in several colleges and universities, she explained.
Through NETWORK’s involvement with Barry University, Chelsea said, she learned that a named fellowship was an effective way to keep the connection between NETWORK and the universities sustainable. Barry University was founded by and is sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Now, heading up each campus chapter is a Carol Coston Fellow, named for Adrian Dominican Sister Carol Coston, OP, Founding Director of NETWORK.
“We wanted to give them a way to connect, and who better than Carol Coston?” she said.
Last Fall, NETWORK hired 10 Fellows to lead YALL Chapters at colleges in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, California, Florida, and Ohio, Chelsea said. Nine of the YALL Chapters are established in Catholic universities – including Barry University.
Meg Olson, Senior Grassroots Mobilization Organizer for NETWORK, sees in the students today the same spirit that led 47 Catholic Sisters to establish NETWORK. “Our students stepped in and said yes,” she said. “I think about that ability to trust the Spirit and say yes, just the way that Carol said yes” to establishing NETWORK.
The first cohort of Carol Coston Fellows began their work in March 2024. After taking the summer off they became involved in social justice advocacy in the fall of 2024. “They all joined us in our mission to work for justice,” Chelsea said. In the first year, the Carol Coston Fellows attended a conference in Washington, D.C., where they lobbied Senators; wrote letters to the editor; and built coalitions on their campuses with campus ministry, offices for mission, and women’s leadership institutes. “They collectively registered more than 1,000 people to vote on all the campuses,” she said.
In addition to working directly with the Carol Coston Fellows, Chelsea said that during on-campus visits, she also works with the students organized by the Fellows. “I’ve been really impressed by the coalition building that is happening on campuses,” she said.
Meg said the Carol Coston Fellows were also involved in NETWORK’s Nuns on the Bus and Friends program, in which Sisters and other advocates ride a bus during election years to pre-determined cities, where they hold rallies and town hall meetings to educate local voters about the issues involved in the election. Carol Coston Fellows attended events at the bus stops in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Miami. They met the bus riders and people attending the events to “get a better sense of NETWORK’s mission,” Meg said.
“In Philadelphia, a student from St. Joseph’s University spoke at the [Nuns on the Bus] event,” Chelsea said. One 20-year-old public policy major, she added, had “an incredible ability to share her lived experiences with the challenges in our healthcare system.”
Although they work on separate campuses, the Carol Coston Fellows have formed their own community as well. At the beginning of the academic year, the Fellows gather in person. Meg said she is impressed by the “incredible community that they forge together. It seemed they had been friends forever.” They also learn from one another during Zoom sessions, she added.
“We’ve learned how challenging voter registration can be in a time of heavy voter suppression,” Chelsea said. “Our students in some states were very discouraged.” Much of the experience in voter registration depends on the state. For example, Wisconsin had very early deadlines for voter registration.
“I’m very proud of the work that they’ve done in the last nine months,” Chelsea said. “I have learned a lot from them in their leadership.” Four of the Carol Coston Fellows are returning next year, while others are graduating.
Chelsea and Meg are preparing to bring together the next cohort in March. Interested students at colleges and universities connected with NETWORK can apply and are asked to write essays, participate in several interviews, and submit recommendations from faculty and staff.
“We really want to emphasize that this fellowship is open to folks of all backgrounds, including other religious and secular backgrounds,” Chelsea said. “Most importantly, it is open to people who want to do the work to build a beloved community,” a community envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in which “everyone is cared for, free from poverty, hunger, and hate.”
NETWORK recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, but Chelsea and Meg are already looking to future anniversaries. “I hope the next time NETWORK celebrates its big anniversary, this program is part of it,” Chelsea said. “I hope there’s a lot of longevity and that we can develop a new generation of activists working for justice for all.”
Caption for above feature photo: Imani, a Carol Coston Fellow at Barry University in Miami, staffs an information table for National Voter Registration Day at the university. Photo Courtesy of NETWORK
June 14, 2019, San Rafael, California – Adrian Dominican Sister Mary Soher, OP, finishing her third year as Director of Campus Ministry at Dominican University of California, received a pleasant surprise at the close of the 2018-2019 academic year: she received two awards in recognition of her service and dedication to the school.
Sister Mary was awarded the Club Advisor of the Year for her service as staff advisor to the Siena Leadership Team, the student leaders of campus ministry. In addition, the Penguin Pantry – a food pantry available every Tuesday to Dominican University students – received the Outstanding Student Program/Event of the Year for 2018-2019. Both were announced during the Penguin Leadership Awards ceremony on May 2.
As staff advisor for the Siena Leadership Team, Sister Mary “provides support at meetings and events, but allows students to take the lead,” said Jessica Frazier, Director of Student Services, in her tribute to Sister Mary. “She is inclusive, celebrates diversity, and encourages students to find creative ways to fill gaps she notices on campus.”
Sister Mary and the Campus Ministry Department initiated the Penguin Pantry on September 11, 2018, to help Dominican University students who were struggling financially. Many of the students are on financial aid or are first-generation students, Sister Mary explained in an interview.
Every Tuesday, students have the opportunity to select free produce, proteins, starches, juices, and snacks such as chips or cookies provided by the SF-Marin Food Bank. The food bank delivers items between noon and 1 p.m., Sister Mary explained. “I have student volunteers who set it up like a farmer’s market. … We provide recipes that students can make in a microwave and we try to give examples of what they can do to combine different food items in their meals.”
The Penguin Pantry was recognized not only for providing food for students but for creating community among student volunteers and those who benefit from the pantry.
Sister Mary said she was “totally surprised and shocked,” about receiving the awards. “I really enjoy working with the students and helping them learn how to become leaders.”
Sister Mary sees the award for the Penguin Pantry as “an award to the whole campus, because it’s a huge collaborative effort.”
During the President’s Reception for the Senior Class on May 16, Sister Mary received the John F. Kennedy Senior Appreciation Award, named for a former Vice President of Student Life at Dominican University – not for the U.S. President.
“Her spirit is contagious, her passion for students is immeasurable, and her energy is limitless,” said Rachel Stowell, Senior Class Senator for the Associated Students of Dominican University, the student government. “She challenges us to go beyond our levels of comfort and to push our boundaries in the belief that we will become the people we are meant to be. She models a life of service.”
The award recipient is chosen by members of the Senior Class, Sister Mary said, noting that the Class of 2019 had been welcoming to her when she first came to Dominican University.
Sister Mary said the Campus Ministry programs have been formed around the four Dominican Pillars of community, prayer, ministry, and study. Campus Ministry, which serves a very ecumenical and interfaith population, “reaches out to anyone who’s seeking to be a believer or to those who want to deepen their relationship with God,” she said. “We offer opportunity for service and outreach and continue to add that educational component in all that we do, helping to empower the students as life-long learners.”
Sister Mary especially treasures the Full Moon Hikes, in which she leads students to the beach for a time of reflection and back to campus under the full moon. She also appreciates the alternative spring break trips to the U.S.-Mexico border. “We’re really starting to get connected with people who are experiencing the border day-in and day-out and offering our students the opportunity to view life through the eyes of others so they have a better sense of what’s really happening,” she said.
The Dominican Sisters of San Rafael – who founded and sponsor Dominican University of California – have been a “wonderful support for campus ministry,” Sister Mary said. The Sisters are involved with the students through activities such as the Busy Student Retreats and special Christmas ornament decoration sessions. “I’m extremely grateful for that,” she said. “It’s quite a collaborative effort.”
Feature photo: Sister Mary Soher, OP, right, receives the 2019 John F. Kennedy Award from Mary Marcy, President of Dominican University of California. The award is named for Dominican University’s former Vice President of Student Life. Photo by David Albee, Courtesy of Dominican University of California