Eight years ago, Jesuit only hosted one immersion trip for the entire school. Today, Jesuit offers 6 different opportunities for students to travel and immerse themselves in a culture unlike their own. The 6 different trips currently offered include Nicaragua 1, Nicaragua 2, Rural Peru, Lima, Quito, and Alaska. Each trip is completely unique, offering an experience different from the others. According to Mr. Perry, the man who makes all of these trips possible, the goal for each trip remains the same: “to strengthen the bonds of Jesuit within our own communities while at the same time strengthening the bonds of Jesuit abroad.” Mr. Perry believes that each mission trip is “unique” in its own individual way, and speaks on what makes each trip so special.
Nicaragua is one of the oldest and most presigous immersion trip at Jesuit. These students “[partner] with the local Jesuit high schools in Managua and with two Catholic grade schools, one Catholic nursing home, one Catholic school for handicapped children, and the largest Catholic organization in Nicaragua.” The students participating in this trip will truly act as Men For Others, assisting those in need in any way they can.
Rural Peru is a fairly new trip for Jesuit but still offers experience and a lot of enjoyment. Mr. Perry believed that “throughout this trip, the students will be focusing on the parish and community center run by Jesuits outside of Cuzco”. The students on this trip will experience the richness of Rural Peruvian culture, including Machu Pichu and other fantastic Peruvian history, as well as donating their time and energy to helping the community centers run by Jesuits.
Quito, Ecuador is another older and traditional immersion trip. “Through a program called the Working Boys Center, [this trip] focuses on the vocation development aspect so that young boys will learn a work vocation, a technical trade so that they can have a better life ahead of them with the economic means to provide for a family.” Mr. Perry said. On this trip, the students will be exposed to the religious aspect of a foreign culture. They will develop spiritually while learning to teach and help those in need.
Lima, Peru is a new trip that Jesuit has added. Mr. Perry said that, “the Lima, Peru program is a unique trip because it will be working with three components:Home stays, Daily Classes all in Spanish, and Service Dimension”. This is the most different of all of the trips because of the exchange program. The students going on the trip will take part in a short exchange program that will allow them to take classes at the Jesuit school in Lima. However, only part of this trip will be in a classroom, where students will be given a certificate for their academic achievements, while the other part will be spent helping the community and experiencing Peruvian culture.
On the alaskan trip, students will be “focusing on working with the Jesuit parish in the area,” said Mr. Perry. The elite few going on this once in a lifetime trip will be experiencing the impoverished communities located in Alaska, and will devote their time to learning about these communities through community service. This year marks a tremendous turning point in Jesuit’s immersion program, which is adding the classroom portion to one of the trips, Lima, Peru. These lucky students will get to experience and take part in an exchange program that Jesuit Dallas has arranged with the Jesuit in Lima. This is a very new component that has been added to the Jesuit immersion trips that Mr. Perry feels, “will add a very Ignatian component.”
One of the students going to Ecuador, George Frymire ’17, is ecstatic about being given this fantastic opportunity:
“As an avid lover of the Spanish culture, when I heard about this immersion opportunity I immediately applied to give myself a chance to experience the wonder of Ecuador. When I was accepted, I couldn’t believe that out of everyone in the school I was one of the lucky few to be chosen to go on this amazing trip. I have thought a lot about what we will be doing on this trip and I am most excited about experiencing another culture. I feel that growing up in Dallas and going to Christ the King then to Jesuit, I have been unable to really be exposed to a lot of poverty and the reality some people have to face everyday, I feel that I am in a bubble. And I am ecstatic that Jesuit is giving me an opportunity to break this bubble and really experience another lifestyle.”
An anonymous student captured the essence of these trips during the Immersion Retreat, saying, “We are not there to change the lives of millions. If you are able to just touch the life of a single individual, the trip will be well worth it”.
