Service is a cornerstone to the identity of Creighton and an active way for students to embody the university’s Jesuit values. Many students participate in service trips through the Creighton Center for Service and Justice that take place during fall and spring breaks.
“We had 182 students go in 24 groups all over the country from El Paso, Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana,” said associate director of the Center for Service and Justice Kelly Tadeo Orbik. “We had three groups right here in Omaha.”
The nature of the service trip changes according to where the students are going. Creighton students may be sharing a meal with the homeless, tutoring, painting, cleaning or building a house.
The CCSJ’s Soup and Stories Program, which took place on Nov. 1 in Harper 3023, is a way for students to share what they have learned while on their service trip with other Creighton students.
“The goal of Soup and Stories in my opinion is to get students to share their experience with the greater Creighton community,” said Jhulan Banago, an Arts & Sciences senior and one of the student coordinators for the event. “We have a reunion for all the participants to share, however, Soup and Stories go beyond that. Many different faculty and people associated to Creighton University came and heard what the students had to say and had the opportunity to ask a couple of questions.”
The aim of the CCSJ is that the momentum continues after students return from their service trips to campus life. Participants of the service trips have a reunion where they reflect on the trip and plan on how they can apply what they have experienced to everyday life. Many continue to do weekly service through the CCSJ and join Ignatian Advocacy groups that are centered on the issues of their trip. Orbik says that over 70 students have signed up to be coordinators on future trips.
“Every Creighton student should go on at least one service trip in his or her eight semesters at Creighton,” Banago said. “It truly is an experience that people will remember for a very long time. The conversations, interactions and bonds people form not just with the service group, but also the community they are serving at is amazing.