Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life

This year marks the one hundred twenty-fifth anniversary of Rerum Novarum, the papal encyclical that laid the foundation for Catholic social teaching on labor and the dignity of work. We will feature a series of blogs highlighting efforts underway to lift up workers and in anticipation of a special event on November 15, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. in Dahlgren Chapel.

Population health offers a framework to understand what determines health among groups of people by exploring differences—or disparities—among populations. As the leading expert in the field, Sir Michael Marmot, says, “health inequalities arise from the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age—the social determinants of health.”

Anastasia Sendoun (C’18) and Alexa Pereda (SFS’17) are the coordinators for the Adult On-Campus Program that offers free ESL tutoring to Georgetown University campus workers as a component of the University’s Just Employment Policy. Their work is part of the DC Schools Project, an initiative of Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice. They coauthored this profound reflection about their experience serving the people who keep the university running smoothly.