Founded in 1999, Red Knight Volunteer Corps has consistently been Benilde-St. Margaret’s most popular extracurricular activity. This year, the club will be going through a change in leadership as Peg Hodapp replaces Becca Meagher as the leader of the organization.

RKVC was founded by Ms. Lisa Lenhart Murphy. While working with BSM on service work, she noticed a need in the surrounding community. “Community agencies would always call BSM and ask, hey, do you happen to have five kids you could send over?” Meagher said.

Looking back on her time with RKVC, including running the club from 2001-2022, Meagher is most proud of preserving its status as the most popular extracurricular at BSM, standing at 382 students. She believes that the success of the club comes from the flexibility it offers. “I call RKVC an ‘and’ club: you can play a sport and do RKVC, you can ride the bus and do RKVC. It’s really just about your ability to schedule time because it’s totally student-led in terms of ‘you pick when you can volunteer,’” Meagher said.

Meagher is currently transitioning her role in RKVC to Ms. Peg Hodapp. Meagher decided to transition from her duties as the RKVC leader because she has become a full time theology teacher. Meagher used to teach campus ministry, so leading the club aligned well with her teaching role. “When I went back into the classroom full time, [RKVC] was always sort of just an extra. I think a natural break happened last spring when I went on maternity leave and Ms. Lenhart Murphy took it over for me while I was gone. And now Ms. Hodapp has come in and she is doing some of Ms. Lenhart Murphy’s job that she did last year, and so RKVC just kind of fits naturally into [Ms. Hodapp’s] position,” Meagher said.

With Hodapp set to take over RKVC she adds to a list of responsibilities at BSM including leading the Common Basket and teaching Discipleship and Morality classes. RKVC fits well with Hodapp’s current tasks and also aligns with her history of service work. “RKVC is service-oriented and service learning is such a huge part of this school. I find it to be really important,” Hodapp said.

Hodapp has not yet fully taken over RKVC responsibilities but will in the near future. She is most looking forward to getting a better look at the club and its participants. “It’s also a challenge because I want to make sure that I get my I’s dotted and T’s crossed and that I know what students are all doing [in RKVC],” Hodapp said.

Ultimately, Hodapp is excited to see students share her enthusiasm for service. “I just think there’s a spirit of giving here … [students are] just … [serving] out of the kindness of their hearts, which I think is really great,” Hodapp said.