2018-2019

My name is Hannah Marks. I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. I graduated from University of South Carolina in May 2018, where I majored in Psychology and minored in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies. I am serving as the encounter coordinator at the Aquinas Center in South Philadelphia. As the encounter coordinator, I plan and facilitate service immersion trips for high school and college students. I also help develop new resources, materials, and workshops for groups as well as helping out with ESL classes, youth programming, and special events at the center. As a volunteer I love learning about the Franciscan charism and getting to know the inspiring women that make up the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia.

Hi! I’m Natalie Wasek. I am proudly from north western New Jersey. I graduated from St. Bonaventure University (Go Bonnies!) with a degree in accounting last May.

I am the Franciscan volunteer for the office of corporate social responsibility. Every day is different and exciting within the office. I work with Sr. Nora Nash and Tom McCaney in shareholder advocacy and responsible investing—holding companies accountable for their actions. The majority of my work focuses around human rights.

Volunteer Alumni

Rachel Dunlap
Hometown:

Ministry: Aquinas Center

 

 

Laura Anderson
Hometown:

Ministry: 

 

 

Bianca Martinez
Hometown:

Ministry: Family Counseling Center at St. Paul’s 

 

Mandee DeMarco
Hometown:

Ministry: Family Counseling Center at St. Paul’s

 

Rachel Dunlap
Hometown:

Ministry: Aquinas Center

 

Theresa Kennedy
Hometown:

Ministry: Red Hill Farm

Kathleen Website

Kathleen Lamontagne 
Hometown: Manchester, NH

Ministry: I volunteer as an organic gardener on Red Hill Farm. I love caring for creation by cultivating natural gifts from the earth to feed God’s people.

As a nature enthusiast, I love spending time outdoors, whether it is hiking, swimming, going for long runs, or just exploring the natural world. I am always up for an adventure and enjoy traveling to new places and immersing myself in different cultures. I like to make creative gifts and bake gluten free treats for my big family. I am excited to start dental school this fall so that I can live out my calling to lovingly serve my community as a dentist.

Sabina1Sabina Marroquin
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

Ministry: The community at the Aquinas Center in Philadelphia, is a favorite part of my ministry. The diversity, hospitality, dedication, and faith present there has been so life giving! I especially enjoy when we host groups at Aquinas and they are able to be immersed in our community for a week. Watching people come together from various walks of life is always beautiful.

My first day of ministry was a late night that ended in a storm and the discovery that my car battery had died.  With almost no phone battery left, I thought I was going to be stranded in a brand new city. Thankfully someone from Aquinas came with the parish priest to give my car a jump and save the day. It’s been an adventure every day since!

Mikah WebsiteMikah Ochieng
Hometown: Taneytown, MD

Ministry: My ministry site is at Anna’s Place in Chester, Pennsylvania. There I am able to work alongside the sisters while helping to bond with and instruct students from the Chester area in computer skills.

I really take interest in the happenings of my city, Philadelphia, whether that takes shape in its exciting cultural events, music, food, recreational opportunities—such as biking along the Schuylkill river—or enjoying the nightlife environment with friends.  I had something interesting happen to me recently. Over the weekend, I was driving back from Massachusetts with a friend. About halfway through the trip—while we were driving through New York City—our car conveniently decided to give up the ghost. We ended up stranded for some time before we got our car towed off the highway in Queens and into the Brooklyn neighborhood where we would have to wait for what felt like an eternity before AAA towed the car to a mechanic. By then it was getting late in the evening and we had no other option but to find some other way back to Philadelphia. Did I mention that our cell phones were dying?  The AAA service worker was kind enough to allow us to charge our phones in his truck as we were being towed—he even dropped us off at a subway station and directed us to where we could catch a bus back to Philly. In the end we made it back home safely and sanely after a 12-hour ordeal. In retrospect, however, it was a transformative bonding experience between the friend with whom I was traveling and me.