Attending graduate school, an eventual occurrence for most Boston College students, never made its way into Amanda Jack's game plan. Instead, since her graduation from BC in 2002, she has volunteered at a migrant shelter, worked at the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, and currently works as a human rights accompanier for the Fellowship of Reconciliation's Colombia Program. In many ways, however, her experiences have made her the wiser.
Jack fondly remembers the time she spent at BC. "There were so many experiences to be had, and I was lucky to participate in a wide variety of activities," she said in an e-mail. "BC is just the perfect combination of excellence in academics, formation outside of the classroom, and all the necessary 'college experience' … [although] I think my most enriching, 'meaningful' experiences were those I had while on immersion trips and volunteer experiences throughout the semesters and during school breaks," Jack said.
An example of her willingness to reach out is exemplified by Jack's participation in the first Borderlinks Mexico Immersion Trip as a sophomore, and then her leadership of the trip the following year. She recalls it as a wake-up call and one of the most educational experiences of her life. "I remember standing on a hill by the Casa Miseracordia in Nogales, Mexico, overlooking the colonia laid out below and just being overwhelmed by how unaware I had been of my immense privilege and of the awful life-or-death struggle being played out everyday in so much of the world. Those are the kind of awakenings that stick with you, the kinds of experiences that, if you're lucky, drive the rest of your life," she said. For Jack, it stood the test of time.
Jack also became involved in political organizations on campus, becoming the Undergraduate Government of BC's fourth woman president. Having been involved with the UGBC since her freshman year, running for president seemed like the next logical step. "I had a lot of earnest ideas for how to provide better services to students and change some of the archaic methods and ideologies that were still in place in what had traditionally been an all-male, white college," she said. In her presidency, the UGBC made headway in having the Gay-Straight Alliance, Allies, become an officially recognized student group, which was officially passed the year following her presidency, an accomplishment that she considers her most meaningful.
Soon after graduating, the English major and American studies minor moved to Austin, Tex. and worked at a migrant shelter where she taught English as a Second Language (ESL) classes while also developing a project that would "recover unpaid wages to undocumented migrant workers." After two years, she worked at the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, reforming sentencing for non-violent offenders, campaigning to garner money for rehabilitation instead of incarceration for offenders, and researching county court practices. As she currently fills out her law school applications, she is determined to focus on public interest law, which concentrates in the service of human needs.
For the past year, Jack has been in the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado in the northwest part of Colombia, an area that she describes as "a rural farmer community of about 1,000 people." Though never having traveled abroad during her college years, Jack is adamant that this was not her reasoning behind going to Colombia. Her desire to go to a location where she could help subdue the increasing violence of civil war fueled her voyage. It was not, as Jack says, about shaping the movement, but learning from it and letting it shape her life. "I appreciate the fact that my role is not to dictate the community's move but to ensure that they have the political and physical space in which to make that move," she said.
Her volunteerism in Colombia continues to change. Having spent the last year in the rural Peace Community, Jack has recently relocated, spending the rest of the spring in the Bogota office where she said she will "meet with government, embassy, and NGO [non-governmental organization] officials as well as offer accompaniment to three grassroots organizations doing work with rural farmers, conscientious objectors, and families looking to recover dead or kidnapped loved ones."
Jack's character as a volunteer has shaped her life since days at the Heights, leaving lasting impressions on both herself and the people she has encountered. Even without a steady paycheck, Jack is excited about spending the spring in Colombia, an education few can obtain from graduate school. "I can't seem to stop jumping at opportunities to get further and further in debt," she said. "Something about the words 'volunteer stipend' are strangely appealing."
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