A student steps forward slowly onto the dark, green grass, his eyes fixated on a small edifice in front of him. Beside him, two of his fellow friends also trek forward, their gaze shifting towards the structure. The building stands level with those around it, a seemingly insignificant house or store. However, erupting from the light brown roof, a large pyramidal pillar beams into the sky, covered in milky white paint. At the very top of this pillar lies a simple cross, high in the sky for everyone to see, almost serving as a beacon for those in the town.
More and more students head towards the beautiful building, and as they get closer, a vivid plethora of green plants pass by their eyes, almost seeming to surround the building itself. As the students reach the large wooden doors to the church, the only thought going through their minds is “We’re not in Dallas anymore.”
From July 16th to the 23rd, a group of 10 Jesuit students and their chaperones, Mr. Christopher Patterson ’08, Mr. David McGowan ’69, and Fr. Leo Liese, embarked on an immersion trip in Alaska.
They first landed in Anchorage, an immense and beautiful city, and then traveled 400 miles to Bethel, a more simplistic and small town that seemed to embrace the nature around it. Here, they stayed at Bethel’s Immaculate Conception Church, where they worked all around the parish doing various jobs, as well as learning about the native Yup’ik people and their interesting lifestyle. The group also served various non-profit agencies around the town, including a Meals on Wheels program at the town’s senior center.
In addition to this, the group went on an enlightening informational tour of various places that contribute to the local culture, including the Kuskokwim Academy and Tundra Women’s Coalition. Working and serving alongside their brothers while embracing the local culture, this Jesuit group truly experienced a life-changing and eye-opening summer immersion trip.
The trip is usually led by Mr. Mattachione, the founder of this immersion journey, but since he left Jesuit before last summer, Mr. Patterson, a faculty member who has gone on the trip multiple times, took up leadership, a role that brought with it many responsibilities.
Reflecting on his new position, Mr. Patterson stated, “I took on more of the logistics of the trip, and I was the only faculty member who had been there before.” Working as Mr. Mattachione’s assistant for the trip in previous years, it was mainly a necessity for him to take up the role, but he also had some of his own reasons for why he wanted to go. Explaining some of his inspirations, he stated that he really enjoyed “bringing kids to a really unique place in America.” With a great leader and various service activities, this trip surely was memorable, and many of the students shared this notion prior to going.
Two students in particular were very excited for the trip, each sharing their own individual reasons for going. Describing some of his initial interest, Luke Nolan ’17 explained, “I love the outdoors and really wanted to experience something new and completely different from the Dallas community that I have grown up in.” Located in the outskirt tundra of Alaska, Bethel was the perfect place for him. Likewise, explaining his attraction towards the trip, Ryan Mchugh ’17 stated, “I went on the Alaska trip to grow closer to some of my classmates I don’t know as well and also the ones I’m good friends with. I also went so that I could experience a new culture and help those in need.” With a week long journey in front of them involving constant exposure to the outdoors and various group service activities, both students were surely not let down.
One of the most important parts of this trip is the experiences and memories that the students and faculty shared alongside their brothers while staying in Alaska. Many of these came from the service they were doing for the community, and highlighting this, Luke Nolan ’17 detailed his own time in Bethel, stating that “the biggest service we did for the church was cut down and trim trees and bushes that had overtaken the thrift shop across the street that the church owns. We also helped maintain and build on the Alaskan Territorial Guard memorial which was very interesting and informative.” Obviously, some of his best memories come from the labor and service which he got to perform with his brothers, but in addition to this, learning about the lifestyle and culture of the town offered him a fairly interesting experience.
Explaining his time learning about their society, Nolan also said, “We went to the Tundra Women’s Coalition and learned about the severity of domestic abuse in Alaska. We also cleaned up liquor and beer bottles along the riverside and learned about how severe alcoholism really is in Alaska.” This trip truly offered Luke an unforgettable and enlightening experience, marked by the service he did for the community, but other students’ memories were more focused on spiritual moments instead.
Sharing his own experience, Ryan Mchugh ’17 revealed the overall impact of the trip on him, stating, “On this trip, I feel I grew much closer to God through getting to know each individual, including classmates, as well as through nature.” Not only did the trip offer various unforgettable services experiences, it additionally strengthened the spirituality of its participants.
Finally, other members of the group saw it as a humbling journey. Describing his own revelation, Mr. Patterson explained, “I thought it was all pretty eye-opening how they live, and being in contact with the native Yup’ik people was very interesting. I think it’s a shock when you get out there, just how people are living because it’s pretty primitive and it’s a rough life. There’s not a lot of modern luxury there. There’s no running water. They ship in everything. You can’t get there by roads. Everything’s just kind of inconvenient, so I always like to go to just remind myself how people are living and how lucky I am to have what I have.” After being exposed to a rougher and different life from Dallas, he truly became more thankful of his everyday life.
Some finding the service work interesting and fun, others growing stronger in spirituality and appreciation for what they have, the Alaska summer immersion trip truly offered and unforgettable and eye-opening experience. To sum it all up, in the words of John Williamson ’17, “It was simply amazing.”
Thanks to Mr. Patterson for the pictures.
