DIOCESAN NEWS
09/04/09
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Duke students spend summer at St. Gabriel Mission
BY TERRY DICKSON
Gulf Pine Catholic
(See related Article)-- Visit St. Gabriel Mercy Center online!
      MOUND BAYOU - Like a scene out of the 80s cult classic “The Karate Kid,” Braveen Ragunanthan, a la Mr. Myagi, urges his pupils to focus before leading them in a series of exercises designed to instill discipline.
      However, unlike in the movie, no chops or kicks are exchanged and nobody is hurt. Ragunanthan’s pupils are all children from the Mississippi Delta town of Mound Bayou, who are participating in a weeklong summer program at St. Gabriel Mercy Center.
      Ragunanthan, 19, a native of Canton, Ohio, and a freshman at Duke University where he is majoring in public policy and pre-medicine, is spending two months of his summer at St. Gabriel as part of the Robertson Scholars Program.
      “The Robertson Scholars Program is a program that is part of Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and it is designed to bring the two universities together,” he said. “I’m here because part of the summer program requires the scholars to go to one of four locations: Cleveland, Mississippi, New Orleans, Whitesburg, Ky., or Atlanta. So I came to Cleveland as part of the first summer of my summer program.”
      It’s an experience he will never forget.
      “This experience has impacted me in ways I can’t even describe,” he said. “I’ve learned so much and I’ve grown so much. I don’t think I’ll realize it until long after I’ve left. It’s really been a transformation.”
      Ragunanthan, who was slated to wrap up his time at St. Gabriel on July 24, said he especially enjoyed working with the kids.
      “I’m not going into teaching. It’s not something I intend to do, but the experience of working with kids and making lesson plans and just the sense of satisfaction you get when you see a kid finally understand something and grasp a concept is a feeling unlike anything in the world. It’s like such an accomplishment and I’ve gotten a taste of that this summer working with these kids,” he said.
      Ragunanthan is in awe of the work done at St. Gabriel.
      “The work the sisters do is amazing,” he said. “I like to describe St. Gabriel’s as a supercenter for this community. It does so many things with the thrift store, social services, Parents As Teachers Program, the Summer Youth program, the Senior Citizens Program - just everything they do. It really is one of the best assets for Mound Bayou.”
      Ragunanthan is one of three scholars from Duke who spent their summer in the Mississippi Delta helping out at St. Gabriel Mercy Center. The others Nina Wolley and Josh Evans. Next summer, Ragunanthan will work in a yet to be determined international location.
      In addition to the hard work he has done this summer, Ragunanthan also had the luxury of taking in some of the Mississippi Delta’s rich cultural scene.
      “That’s been another great part about this summer, not just working at St. Gabriel’s, but getting the whole experience of the Mississippi Delta - the Blues - and learning about the rich culture and history is something I really can’t put into words,” he said.
      “I’ve really gained a perspective not just on this area but what it means to be an American. Coming here, I feel like I’ve peered into America’s soul right here in the Mississippi Delta.”
      To learn more about the Robertson Scholars Program, visit www.robertsonscholars.org.

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