Last week, sixteen SLUH students and four teachers spent their spring break serving the less fortunate. After two years of canceled immersion trips, SLUH representatives eagerly set off to serve in Brownsville, Texas and Camden, N.J.

The Brownsville trip focused heavily on the U.S. migration crisis at its Mexican border and assisting migrants on both sides of the border. It was a brand new trip that was quickly created after the school's inability to book the usual trip with the Kino Border Initiative. 

"With the pandemic, they were flooded with a bunch of schools coming back to trips so we were not able to get a spot locked in," explained immersion trip coordinator Stephen Deves. "So we reached out to two recently-ordained SLUH alum priests working at the border to see the chances of them accepting a group of students."

SLUH worked with Fr. Louie Hotop, SJ and Father Strassburger over the course of the year to plan out a meaningful experience that encompassed many aspects of their traditional trip. Then finally, ten brave students, led by Spanish teacher Javier Moreno and English teacher Terry Quinn, embarked on the journey. While in Brownsville, they worked with multiple organizations such as Team Brownsville, the Humanitarian Respite Center, and Senda de Vida to hand out donations, learn about the migrants’ situation, play with the children, and overall immerse themselves in one of America’s most pressing issues.

“We hear about the difficulties of being an immigrant and the complicated process that it is to enter the US  but we don't really know it until we see it," commented Moreno. "That's what was great about this trip, that you got a better understanding of the process and the challenges these people go through as well as how quickly their reality can change."

The trip did not fall short of the students’ hopes for educating themselves and gaining new perspectives. By spending a week with each other, they formed a community. They also gained much more knowledge of the Spanish language, even for the four students on the trip who have not taken Spanish classes. 

“We could unite with the kids by playing soccer and speaking some Spanish,” recalled junior David Hunt. “It was a really cool experience to transcend our cultural boundaries."

Most importantly, though, through their work in Brownsville, the students found exactly that which was the goal of the trip— the humanity in the situation.

“By spending that time with them, you don't even really see them as different than you, you just see them as your equals,” said Hunt.

“Before going on the trip, I just had pity for the situation,” observed senior Ben Harmon. “But now I can say that I have empathy. I've been able to be with the people affected. It's not just researching a problem and feeling bad for people; it’s actually going down there, seeing it, and being able to relate to those people and experience the problem with them.”

While the Brownsville trip was brand new, the Camden trip has been a long standing tradition at SLUH due to a 20-year partnership with the Romero Center in Camden, NJ. This year, six students along with Biology teacher Chris Stahl and social studies teacher Tom Kickham embarked on their own urban challenge. 

"The program is exactly what we want in terms of a combination of service and immersion and learning, all incorporated into one week," said Deves. "They have a very cool outline of allowing students to learn about the issues and experience them through their service, as well as having different reflections and discussions."

Over the course of the week, students served with Urban Promise, South Jersey Food Bank and the Saint Joseph Pro Cathedral School. They completed tasks from maintaining the facilities and packaging items to helping students in the classroom and playing games with them at recess. 

"It's been years since I've been to recess," said junior Trey Smith. "Being able to be a kid again and play basketball with the students was a lot of fun for me." 

One of the most powerful impressions from the trip was the prevailing sense of hope and resilience among the Camden residents, especially those involved with Urban Promise—an organization that helps Camden youth through various after-school and summer programs designed to give them opportunities many people elsewhere take for granted. 

"The leaders were incredibly passionate when they talked about these programs," said Stahl. "I could tell it was something that really meant a lot to them and they wanted us to see the difference it made for those kids." 

While they learned so much about Camden and its revitalization, the group also had ample free time, which they spent bonding and building powerful friendships in the new environment. 

"Instead of doing service the entire time, we actually had some time to bond with the other students there," said freshman Derek Nester. "It was a blissful time."

The students were from very different backgrounds and grades but they all willingly came together to form a tight, personal group. One of the main activities they did together was play the popular card game Spades, which fostered teamwork, trust and led to plenty of energetic reactions among the students. 

"It's a game I learned a long time ago that I've had a lot of fun with in the past," said junior Max Gathemann. "I've been looking to bring it to new people and this was the perfect opportunity."

It caught on instantly and the students spent hours every night hooked by the simple yet strategic game and the challenge of defeating Gathemann's steady, consistent scores. 

"It was such an awesome time doing things with these really cool guys," said freshman Greyson Mueller. "I'll never forget the trip.”