Boarding a plane headed towards a new country or state, the Jesuit students wave goodbye to their families and embark on a trip that will give them an insight to the culture of their new home for anywhere from 8 to 14 days. But besides a glimpse into culture, these students will work to better the lives of the people around them by employing the tenants of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps: To live in simplicity, To educate for social justice, To be spiritual, and for life in the community.
The Roundup sat down with Rich Perry, Director of Community Service and Social Justice, in order to get some deeper insights on the trips and some of the logistics surrounding them.
There are 6 Social Justice Trips that take place in the summer:
Alaska June 3rd-10th 2017 (Sophomores and Juniors Only)
Ecuador July 1-10th 2017 (Sophomores and Juniors only)
Rural Peru June 30th-July 11th 2017 (Juniors Only)
Urban Nicaragua June 3rd-10th 2017, (Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors)
Rural Nicaragua July 5th-15th 2017 (Juniors Only)
Lima, Peru July 4th-17th 2017 (Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors)
The applications for all of these trips are due on January 12th, and according to Mr. Perry the community service office is expecting “hundreds of applications” to a program that is actually smaller than it was last year. He says the shrinking of the program is “intentional” in order to create “the right dynamic” for a mission. There will be 10 students accepted for the Alaska trip, 12 for the Ecuador trip, 12 for the Urban Nicaragua trip, 8 for the Rural Nicaragua trip, 12 for the Lima, Peru trip, and 9 for the Rural Peru trip.
Mr. Perry also commented that when applying “you should be thoughtful” because “different trips have different levels of challenge” as well as “a different emphasis,” although all of the trips have “a spiritual approach.” Every trip is a unique experience and some trips may be better suited for some students than others, and as such it is important to talk to either Mr. Perry or Mr. Riemer or even glance at the trip descriptions which will be linked at the bottom along side the link to the application.
In conjunction with the new group sizes, the Social Justice office is also adding some new labels for service hours in regards to these Social Justice trips. The new term is “Social Justice Field Work Credit” and Mr. Perry explained that this change was made because they “wanted guys to know, in the words they are using, what the definition is.” He, along with the department, felt that this new terminology is more accurate when describing actually “getting out in the field and doing social justice,” and “being an agent of positive relationship building, positive change, and community development.” Most of the trips will offer around 30 of these credits that will be added on to your service hours for that year.
Mr. Perry concluded the interview by making it clear that every single trip has financial aid available, because “we should always as a community be offering the same opportunities for every person.”
Whether you decide to apply or not, make sure to be well informed about all the trips and if you are interested pick the one you think is best suited to you, but part of these unique experiences is the opportunity to go outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself. Regardless of what trip you choose, you should strive to make a positive impact to the places and people you encounter.
