Spring Break with a Mission

Group Leaders

Carroll students give up vacation to volunteer.

Sophomore Kelly White is serving as student leader for the immersion trip going to Baltimore, Md.  Last year, White traveled to Immokalee, Fla.  The experience had such a positive affect on her that she decided to give up her spring break once again.  Unlike her attendance in the past experience, she is leading the group this year.  “I’m a little nervous, but we have a fun group, and I think it will be a great trip.”  Her group will be working in soup kitchens, employment centers and with catholic organizations.  White said, “I hope that we can help the people we work with and better understand the causes of poverty and how they can be addressed.”  Poverty is one of the most prominent realizations they will face in Baltimore.  -By Katie Sheridan

This spring break, senior Pat Carpenter is the student leader for the trip to Immokalee, Fla., and he is no stranger to immersion experiences.  Carpenter went on his first immersion trip to Camden, N.J. while still in high school.  He really enjoyed the experience so he decided to apply again when he came to John Carroll.   This will be Carpenter’s third trip with John Carroll, he went to Chicago spring break of his sophomore year and Immokalee last year.  He hopes that his volunteering will not end here. As an early childhood education major, Carpenter has applied for a volunteer position at the Urban Catholic Teacher Center in Boston.  If he gets the position, Carpenter will be doing service in inner-city schools for the next two years.  “Working with the kids inspires me to become a better teacher,” he explains. Carpenter is looking forward to spending his spring break doing service. “It’s doing something important.  It’s better then just sitting around and doing nothing all break.”  -By Kerry Keyes

Last year, sophomore Natalie Terry spent her spring break and some of her winter break serving on immersion trips.  Over winter break, she went to New Orleans, La. and then spent her spring break in Cleveland.  This is Terry’s first year as a leader.  She feels that JCU offers amazing opportunities to make a difference and she could not imagine spending this time on vacation.  “I plan on re-energizing my call to be a woman for others. An immersion experience always sparks the passion in me,” said Terry.  She decided to go on the trip last year after becoming involved with Labre.  Her hope was that after going on an immersion trip to Cleveland she would have a better understanding of poverty.  Next year she hopes to spend time volunteering on an immersion trip to Nicaragua.  -By Katie Sheridan

Maggie Antonelli is a sophomore and this will be her second immersion trip.  Last year, as a freshman, she went on the immersion trip to Duran, Ecuador.  Antonelli has been curious about social justice issues since high school, and John Carroll has provided her with the opportunity to explore and help with these issues, specifically immigration. She is looking forward to spending a day in the life of an immigrant while in Louisville and hopes to get a better understanding of issues that immigrants and refugees deal with on a daily basis. “I don’t look at it as giving up my spring break; I look at it as using my spring break,” she said.  “We might as well use our time off to do something good.”  Although she is only a sophomore, Antonelli is already considering doing a year of service after graduation, and she definitely plans on doing at least one more immersion trip during her time here at Carroll.  -By Kerry Keyes

Senior Anne Rollick will be co-leading John Carroll’s trip to Louisville, Ky. this year.  After travelling to Kingston, Jamaica last summer, she decided to do a domestic trip and stay in the states this year for spring break.  The trip to Louisville works with immigrants and refugees, and Rollick is hoping to gain a better understanding of the struggles and challenges that immigrants are faced with when they come to the United States.  Last year, Anne decided to apply for a trip because she had a personal desire to get more involved with social justice activities and one of her friends recommended going on an immersion trip.  Her service experiences here at John Carroll have influenced Rollick to apply to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps after graduation.  She applied to the Northwest Region and hopes to do a year of service in Alaska, Montana, Oregon or Washington after graduating in May.  -By Kerry Keyes

Jenny Hauschildt, currently a senior at JCU, is leading a group going to Mount Vernon, Ky.  The rather small group, consisting of only five members, has the possibility of making a huge difference in Ky.  This group is unique from all the others because they will deal heavily with the environment as opposed to people.  Hauschildt plans to do a year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps after graduation.  She hopes this experience will help put her in the mindset of service and simple living.  The group will work with the Appalachian Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit resource center.  They will be learning about mountain top removal, visiting waste water treatment plants and doing whatever else is needed.  Informed personal choices, responsible resource management and sustainable development are the goals promoted by ASPI. She said, “I think with the coming election it is important to learn about environmental issues and spread the message.”  -By Katie Sheridan

This spring, a national service program began at John Carroll. This trip presented by Students Today Leaders Forever, will encompass nine days of tourism, service and reflection in seven cities across the U.S., from Cleveland to New Orleans.  Weinandy is one of the many who helped establish this year’s STLF spring break trip.  The core of dedicated STLF leaders has encouraged 23 students to join them on this mission.  Weinandy joined STLF because “despite needing something to keep me out of trouble, I knew that I would be able to learn a lot from Students Today Leaders Forever…the way I see life, it is a chance for everybody to make a difference in this world.”  He feels this trip is a catalyst to inspire others to lead and change the world.  “This organization is one that is focused on what the individual can do,” said Weinandy.   -By Ariel Johnson