Helping Each Other, Building a Compassionate Community
Friday, March 27, 2026
In her work with DOVE and other service-driven projects at Seton Hall, Michelle Peterson models a lifelong vocation rooted in empathy and action.
At Seton Hall, our guiding values call us to serve and let compassion shape who we become.
Through the dedicated efforts of colleagues like Michelle Peterson, who directs the Division of Volunteer Efforts (DOVE), the University is helping students transform their understanding of service from a required activity into a lifelong vocation rooted in empathy and action.
As Peterson notes in the new Guiding Values video, true service begins with understanding, requiring us to "walk with" others and truly comprehend their stories rather than merely assuming what people need. In her on-screen interview Peterson compellingly reminds us that the root of the word "compassion" is to “suffer with.”
Just as our patroness Elizabeth Ann Seton saw suffering and responded with compassion and service, we are inspired by the same spirit that endures on our campuses today.
Click here to watch the video.
Michelle Peterson with other volunteers on a mission trip.
Seton Hall's commitment to these ideals is evident in the stories of students who participate in service programs sponsored by DOVE. In the video, Peterson recalls one business student who traveled to El Salvador and was so profoundly moved by the stories of those he met that he changed his life's path, becoming a physician dedicated to community outreach. We are reminded that this student’s story is just one example of how the experience of service at Seton Hall can be transformational, shaping not just what students do, but who they become.
Compassion and Service is the focus of the second video in Seton Hall’s six-part series, focused on the guiding values at the core of our strategic plan. In each episode, members of our community share personal stories that bring values including faith, love, integrity, resilience and courage to life. Their stories demonstrate how these ideals become daily practices that shape our shared experience.
As this series unfolds from month to month, each story carries the spirit of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton — a legacy of empathy in action, of lifting others up and widening access to opportunity. Her example reminds us that our guiding values are not simply words we uphold, but choices we make each day, in how we serve one another and the world.
Categories: Faith and Service, Nation and World
