Reinking ’05 Defers Dreams to Serve in Egypt

With Valparaiso University degree in hand, and acceptance into the Loyola University School of Medicine, the future looked bright for Jason Reinking ’05.

Jason Reinking ’05.

Reinking decided to take a detour, however—delaying his entry into medical school for a year in order to serve others.

“I learned at Valpo that I had an opportunity that nine-tenths of the world will never have: to discern the place where my skills, interests and ideals intersect that of the world's needs,” he says. “It is my responsibility to discover my niche in this world.  It was this very ideology that led me to the decision to delay medical school in the hopes of learning more about the world and my place in it, and along the way perhaps donate my efforts toward reconciliation.”

A member of St. Thomas Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in St. Louis, Reinking accepted an appointment by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to serve as one of 40 volunteers in the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission Program in Cairo, Egypt.

Between Aug. 31, 2005, and June 25, 2006, he worked for the Egyptian non-governmental organization Care With Love, which trains and employs home health caregivers.

Reinking handled publicity, generating a new Web site (www.cwlegypt.org), several PowerPoint presentations for English-speakers, and a photo archive and video archive. He also visited with patients at Care With Love sites including a geriatric center and a center for children with cancer. 

In addition to his duties at CWL, he taught a three-hour English course once a week at the Egyptian Coptic Christian Cathedral and played music at a local orphanage where he taught and sang children's songs in English, French and Arabic.

“I believe Valpo's environment of commitment to ideals spurred me to make the most of my time in Egypt, becoming involved in projects like the English class, the orphanage, the Dialogue Forum, and other extra-curriculars,” he says.

“With the faith, confidence and determination fostered by my Valpo experience, it is my hope and intention to graduate from Loyola's School of Medicine with a degree that I will give back to the world.”