Global education trips have returned in full swing! Director of Global Education Rob Chura and Campus Ministry are working to bring domestic and international immersion trips back, with the first one having been completed earlier this year. All four facets of global education are back despite setbacks from the Covid-19 pandemic, from language immersion trips to archaeologically- and theologically-based experiences, to service trips, and even to our own classrooms.

The first facet of the Global Ed program is language immersion trips, which include trips all over the world, spanning five continents and a multitude of countries and their diverse cultures. 

“All five languages have an immersion program,” said Chura. “We've got the bandwidth to provide an experience for everybody in different stages (of language learning).”

Global Ed offers trips to France, Russia, Egypt, China, Taiwan, Spain, Chile, and Colombia, providing a diversity of opportunities to accommodate any student interested in taking this type of immersion trip. This is made possible by a global network of connections between Jesuit schools. 

“I think it's important to practice your language skills on another platform and being able to go on an international trip will do just that,” said senior Ismael Karim. “Also, in terms of service, I think we're really localized and being able to go out of St. Louis and experience that gives you a lot of value.”

The Spanish program is unique in that immersion trips are offered in all three levels of the language learning.

“In Spanish, since that's roughly half of our student body, we've got it at all three levels,” said Chura. “After freshman year, you can go to Pamplona, Spain. After sophomore year, you can go to Bucaramanga, Colombia, and after junior year, you can go to Santiago, Chile.”

The first of these Spanish immersion trips has already kicked off, setting the stage for more to come.

“So we have had our very first trip since the pandemic earlier this year already, on Labor Day weekend. We sent two juniors down to the Kino border at Mexico in Arizona,” said Campus Minister and Immersion trip coordinator  Stephen Deves. “They were a part of a leadership program that experienced this initiative that a Jesuit organization started, which helps migrants at the border. They were really able to understand the complexity of the immigration issue.”

As reported in last week’s edition of the Prep News, juniors Luke Duffy and Nicholas Purschke joined Modern and Classical Languages Department Chair Kate Toussaint on a trip with the Kino Border Initiative, where they were immersed in the service of immigrants fleeing the danger of their home countries. 

This trip to the border was a mix of language immersion and service-based learning, melding two facets of the Global Ed program. 

Going forward, Campus Ministry has a variety of social justice trips planned for the rest of the school year, covering a wide range of interests and locations.

“We have another trip that is planned in November called Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice, and this will be about 20 students who go to Washington, D.C. to a very large social justice conference there,” said Deves. “We do this every year, but obviously we didn’t last year, so it's exciting that they'll go back again this year.”

This Jesuit-sponsored annual conference will feature guest speakers such as Fr. James Martin, SJ and Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, and is meant for activism of all kinds. SLUH students will interact with others from across the nation in both prayer and politics, and will receive first hand experience in activism by speaking with Senators and Representatives on Capitol Hill.

“Then in spring break we typically have five trips that happen yearly,” explained Deves. “At the moment we are planning to move forward with those. Then we have another trip that happens in February for another social justice leadership conference in California.”

The renewed opportunity to take trips like these has made up for lost opportunities due to the pandemic, sparking a renewed interest in the student body for these trips.

“I was really bummed when the trips all got cancelled due to Covid,” said senior Alex Mittendorf. “I was really interested to get involved and learn more about the immigration situation at the border and get immersed in other things like that. I’m super excited to get the chance again.”

Adding yet another aspect to this many-sided program is the primarily educational, non-language-based component. This includes an archeological dig in Ireland, as well as an Ignatian pilgrimage to Italy and France. Plus, an Eastern European Cold War tour and a STEM research project in Iceland will be available for students this summer.

The anthropological and archaeological trip to Ireland is led by social studies teacher Timothy O’Neil and St. Louis University professor Dr. Tom Finan, ’85. The Ignatian pilgrimage, led by theology teacher Mike Lally, follows the major events in the life of St. Ignatius, including highlights of both Rome and Paris. The Cold War program visits Berlin, Krakow, Prague, and Budapest and engages participants in the rich history of the Cold War era in Europe. Finally, the STEM research trip goes to Reykjavik and a variety of Icelandic tourist spots where students gain firsthand experience in applying science into working with the environment.

“It’s been really beneficial for the kids to be able to meet with peers from these cultures and interact with them and collaborate to work on a project together,” said Chura. “You know, not just cooperate but actually collaborate to come up with something new, or build something through the efforts of both groups.”

The final aspect of Global Education is already in effect within our classrooms, thanks to the One World Club. This club has been conducting virtual exchanges for the past year and a half, keeping alive the inter-cultural connections that characterize the Global Ed program.

“We want to make sure that we don't overlook the local connection,” said Chura. “Those opportunities in house are here in our own community, so we can recognize opportunities to have global experiences without jumping on a plane.”

Global education opportunities will play an even greater role this year and years to come. These opportunities give students the opportunity to immerse themselves in new cultures and experience educational opportunities outside of the classroom. 

“The big thing is to introduce that opportunity to interact, really understand where a person is coming from,” said Chura. “Put a face and a voice and a person behind these cultural lessons that we know something about, but once it becomes real, and human and personal, that's where the big impact happens.”