&
SENSE OF BELONGING
By Mrs. Susana Cetta, LMHC, Director of Student Activities and Service Living
BELONGING IS A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN NEED. It
is difficult to articulate, but it is something that we
feel intensely and profusely. It is a distinct feeling to
experience no matter the age. With teenagers, belonging
ebbs and flows depending on the day and varies in
intensity and volume; depending on not only the mood,
but also the group teenaged students are associating
with at the time. Bring social media into the mix and this
complicates things; it can be a recipe for success or
failure, depending on the day. It is a dynamic system that
is constantly changing.
At Palmer Trinity, we strive to offer many opportunities
for connection and achievement of a positive sense of
belonging by means of planned service living activities
via our PTS Service Living Program. There are over
50 student organizations that offer opportunities for
authentic human connection. These organizations are led
by dynamic and passionate student leaders and advised
by equally driven and passionate faculty members. On
any given day there are many opportunities with which
to connect and serve others for the greater good such as
serving dinner to the homeless at Chapman Partnership,
volunteering to teach a class during a Breakthrough
session, participating in a local 5K to support raising
funds to promote melanoma research, volunteering with
young children at an early childhood learning center,
painting and cleaning up a garden at a local family center,
conducting a clothing or costume drive and writing letters
of appreciation and thanks to our local police department
during Thanksgiving.
According to Dr. Abraham Maslow, a humanistic
psychologist, belonging is one of the five significant needs
an individual must achieve in the pursuit of happiness
based on his well known theory of human motivation.
BUILDING A
MAKING CARING COMMON
Maslow's Theory of Human Motivation
palmertrinity.org
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PERSPECTIVES
