Reflecting on her experience with the University of Dayton Summer Appalachia Program in Salyersville, Kentucky, intervention specialist major and UD senior Erin Cunnane sees children anywhere have the same needs — to feel safe, loved and cared for.
“Seeing these kids in Salyersville, school may be the only place they’re guaranteed to be with safe adults and have meals,” said Cunnane, who is a student teacher at a Dayton-area school for first- through fourth-graders with emotional and behavioral disorders. “Even though the kids I’m teaching in Dayton might not be in the same situation as the kids in Salyersville, I focus on making sure they feel safe, loved and cared about.
“One camper was autistic, so working with him and seeing how having a disability and living in poverty tie together has made me more aware of resources kids have, especially in the field of special education. It made me more confident in the work I’m doing; I have a ‘why’ now, making sure that my students feel supported and cared for every day.”
Cunnane and 13 other Flyers participated in the University of Dayton Summer Appalachia Program in summer 2025 thanks to One Day, One Dayton donors supporting programs like this one that help students experience the fullness of their faith and service. During the program, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year, Cunnane and her classmates lived together, examining their faith while providing summer programs, including a day camp and teen center, and volunteering with the local nursing home.
She reflected on how the summer helped her live simply, noting the time she spent outside, as well as the lack of cellphone reception and living without indoor toilets and showers.
With Cunnane’s leadership, the UD students built an outdoor shower stall at the house that serves as their summer residence — a big upgrade from washing outside with a bucket of water and soap. This was the house improvement project they decided to do, as all Summer Appalachia Program participants do, leaving the spaces they walk into better than they found them.
By evening, UD students would make dinner and eat together, and would go on a walk to digest the day. Cunnane said some of those habits stuck; she’s still going on walks after dinner and she’s still committed to caring for everyone.
Mary-Kate Sableski, professor of literacy and special needs in UD’s Teacher Education Department, participated in the program in 1997 and imparted to Cunnane that the summer, though it ends, leaves an imprint.
“Dr. Sableski said she thinks about this summer every day. I thought it was so cliche until I went, and now I definitely think about it every single day,” Cunnane said. “Especially stepping into the classroom, seeing the kids and wanting to impact them. I have this sense of being grounded, not worrying about what’s going on somewhere else, being with the people I’m with; I think I’ve carried that and been more intentional and grounded in my everyday life.”