As fall break approached, some students looked forward to sleeping in, watching TV, eating filling home-cooked meals and having Mom or Dad do their laundry for free.
Others looked forward to a week with complete strangers with whom they would live out the Jesuit values.
These students participated in fall break service trips through the Creighton Center for Service and Justice.
Arts & Sciences sophomore Mary McGroarty was one such student. She spent the week in El Paso, Texas, staying at the Missionary Society of St. Columban Office of Advocacy and Outreach. Her week was spent learning about border issues, migrant families and their daily lives and living conditions.
“The only thing that the family asked was that we share their story,” McGroarty said. “No petitions or anything.”
One night, the group went to the Annunciation House, which is a Catholic organization that offers homeless migrant workers a place to stay. There the group ate dinner and worked alongside the immigrants to help finish their chores.
The El Paso group was also exposed to the opposing side of the immigration issue. While on the trip, the Creighton students visited immigration court to better understand the legal issues facing illegal immigrants. The group also spent a day with a border patrol agent visiting the border wall between Texas and Mexico.
Started in 1983, the fall and spring break service trips are designed to teach students how “to become men and women for and living with others,” according to the CCSJ website.
This experience would not be possible, however, without Creighton’s reputation and dedication to living out the Jesuit values.
“A needed break for our students, this experience deepens Creighton’s connections with communities while forming our students in [the] Jesuit mission,” said Kelly Orbik, assistant director of CCSJ.
El Paso was not the only destination for students participating in the fall service trips. Half-week trips offered students the chance to stay in Omaha and work in the community at the Siena/Francis House or learn about sustainability by actually living it.
Those who wanted to travel were spread out over the country in places like the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, Ill., the L’Arche community in Clinton, Iowa, and St. Stephens Indian Mission in Wind River, Wyo.
Documenting their week, CCSJ also created a blog at http://ccsj.blogspot.com and posted pictures and short blogs throughout the week to communicate the experience to others.
“We’ve been doing a lot of walking and have noticed that there are a ton of murals all around Pilson,” the group in Chicago posted.
“A lot of these murals are of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. We’ve been getting to know the people we are staying with as well as the other people in our groups. We’re looking forward to everything that tomorrow (Tuesday) is going to bring us.”
For more information about fall and spring service trips, visit CCSJ’s website at www.creighton.edu/ministry/ccsj and the blog at http://ccsj.blogspot.com.
Alaine Oshefsky, News Reporter, contributed to this report.