Upon entering the hallowed halls of Lancaster Catholic four years ago, Devon Gerhard already had a sense of service to others by serving as an Altar Server at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church in Ephrata for over five years and at their Food Bank.
When discussing the characteristics of a Lancaster Catholic student, the qualities of honesty, integrity, good citizenship and humility come to mind along with the mission to develop students who are intellectually astute, passionately faithful and socially responsible.
Devon has been the epitome of what you expect a Catholic High student to be with her academic, athletic and campus ministry successes.
From being on the honor roll year after year, to captain of the girls soccer team, to serving as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion at Catholic High and leading a retreat for her peers; Devon has been an active part of the Lancaster Catholic High School family.
Last year, Devon had the chance to participate in one of Lancaster Catholic’s most popular retreats, Kairos. Kairos is an incredible four day retreat experience led by a team of past participants (students) and faculty, that help students either begin to explore or explore in more depth their relationship with God.
“I was always interested in attending Kairos,” said Gerhard. “My brother and friends went, but I was unsure of what it was all about. Kairos allows you to grow in your faith while getting to know more students and the faculty outside of the classroom.”
Because of her amazing experience as a junior on that retreat, she applied and was selected to lead a part of the Kairos experience as a senior and was paired up with Mr. Jim Rothwell, science teacher at LCHS.
“Devon is a self-aware young woman who has genuine concern for the rest of the student body,” explained Rothwell. “She’s active in soccer and track, and in addition to showing care and concern for her teammates, she also shows compassion for opposing players while still competing against them while striving for the best performance from herself and the team.
“I witnessed this same concern for the wellness of others on Kairos 35, where I had the pleasure of co-leading a small group with her. The dedication and thoughtfulness she devoted to preparing for the retreat led to a phenomenal experience for our small group and the whole retreat, in addition to a personal growth experience for her.”
Service to others has always been rooted in the educational process at Lancaster Catholic, and the Good Samaritan Program was established to help motivate students into volunteering and helping those in their community.
The Good Samaritan Program is required for all students who attend Catholic High to foster the proclamation of the Gospel and to form good habits of service to others in the community by completing a minimum of twenty hours of service within the course of a school year.
Mrs. Beth Christensen, Director of the Good Samaritan Program, has interacted with Devon over the course of these last four years and has nothing but positive words to describe her and her service to the community.
“Devon is a model example of a student who desires and is capable of changing the world around her,”
expressed Christensen. “Her maturity and enthusiasm to help those isolated and marginalized in our society has been evident through the countless service initiatives she has taken part in the last four years.”
Devon explained that she loves to help her community in any way that she can.
“By volunteering at the food bank, it feels good to help others in the community, even if it is in a small way,” Gerhard admitted. “I kept going back to volunteer after I maxed out on volunteer hours needed.”
Devon also had the chance to attend the DeSales Service Works Retreat which is a three day service experience working and worshiping alongside students in an underprivileged neighborhood of Camden, New Jersey, offered to sophomores, juniors and seniors.
“I heard some amazing reviews from past participants, so I went for the fun of it,” she declared.
The idea of helping others and making an impact in their lives has not been lost on this extraordinary senior.
At the end of her junior year, Devon made the decision to apply for Christian Service, which is a class that allows students to go out into the community to help individuals during the course of the school day. This course is designed to provide selected students with the opportunity to live out their Christian commitment in service to people in the local community, some with special needs.
Devon has been helping first grade teacher Ms. Anne Hall at Resurrection Elementary School this year through the Christian Service program.
“The Christian Service students bring so much to our classroom, especially the ability to have one-on-one time with the students,” said Hull. “Devon is able to get to know the first graders and they are able to get to know her, too, in this setting, which is very beneficial to them.”
Students interested in elementary education, special education, elder care or geriatrics often apply to take Christian Service since it deals with servicing different audiences of people.
Devon will be attending the University of Pittsburgh in the fall and will be studying to become a dental hygienist.