In this 25th year of ministry, BSVM is highlighting different alumni who share the ways in which they are living into the charism and mission of the Sisters of Bon Secours years after their time with BSVM concluded. Each alum has been marked by stories of compassion, healing, and liberation from their community and ministry placements, and their lives now reflect aspects of their growth and transformation, from informing how and where they work to decisions related to neighborhood placement, community life, and more. We are grateful for their continued faithfulness in being Good Help wherever they find themselves.

Living the Mission: Joyful Anticipation of Connection
By Fiona Shorrock, BSVM 2018-2019
A graduate of Loyola Marymount University

I spent most of my mornings as a BSVM volunteer in the waiting room, waiting to accompany folks who came to the Care-A-Van clinic, especially the children. Healthcare is a busy space, with little time for anything but transactional conversations that are medically relevant, unless you were me, a 22-year-old volunteer. My days were filled with joyful anticipation of the unknown. Twice a week I set up a folding table with coloring and reading materials for the children to have some type of entertainment. Children and adolescents were and continue to be incredible models for me: they offer compassion and healing freely, never ostracizing, and hilariously offering their unfiltered opinions. The liberation of silliness and laughter shared at my Reach-Out-and-Read table was infectious – such a gift on a mobile clinic!

For the last 4 years I’ve found myself on the other end of the time-centered-spectrum of healthcare and research. First as a research coordinator in Baltimore working with youth living with HIV or at risk for HIV, we encouraged testing and medication use. We utilized motivational interviewing to help youth discover the tools they have for liberation. At its foundation, the method is centered around
self-efficacy, which felt so similar to the part of the Bon Secours charism that speaks of sharing in liberation. My favorite part of my research job was seeing youth get free from internal barriers to make good changes towards self-improvement.

Now, as a pediatric nurse at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center specializing in burn care, my days are mostly taken up by tasks again, but I remind myself of the gifts of the charism when I have the ability to sit and be simply present to my patients and their families. I’m challenged to work beyond the transactional nature of healthcare and offer healing through more than just medicine but also through kindness, silliness, compassion, and most importantly, joyful anticipation of the space where connection happens.

Fiona with her community members in Richmond

Fiona with a patient at the Care-A-Van

Fiona with her full BSVM 2018-2019 community and Director, Shannon Curran