Immersion Trips

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Spring Break Domestic Immersion Program

Fairfield University’s Office of Campus Ministry strives to be a home for students of all faith traditions who are interested in exploring and enriching their spiritual lives and commitment to justice. Rooted in the Catholic faith and steeped in the Ignatian tradition, Campus Ministry is committed to the development of the whole person and believes that a healthy spiritual life is an essential key element of the Fairfield University experience. The Spring Break Domestic Immersion Program offers immersion opportunities around the United States for students, faculty, and staff to explore what it means to live a faith that does justice and to deepen their relationships with God through:

  • Sharing in the lives of those living in poverty through short-term service projects and living experiences
  • Reflecting critically on issues of faith and justice
  • Being exposed to the wonderful diversity of God’s creations through an encounter with those living in a culture different from their own
  • Offering their skills, resources, and gifts for the purpose of creating a more just and loving world
  • Building lifelong relationships with their peers and our program partners

Domestic Immersion Programs

U.S. Mexican Border Immersion | San Diego

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U.S. Mexican Border Immersion | San Diego

This program will explore the impact of living only 15 miles from the U.S./Mexico Border and the challenges faced by families, local farmers, businesses, and the large Chicano community. Participate in community driven initiatives and live the realities by combating the stereotypes immigration has been given right here in one of the most important areas involving this issue. Meet the Amigos Car Club, a grassroots organization that has curbed gang-violence in urban areas, bring water to immigrants crossing the border with the founder of Border Angels, Enrique Morones and travel from Otay to the Pacific Ocean to join the border patrol on a tour between the fence and the wall, highlighting the extreme differences between life on two sides of a wall.

For more information, visit the Via International website.

Racial Justice Immersion | Saint Louis and Memphis

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Racial Justice Immersion | Saint Louis and Memphis

Classic cars parked in front of a hotel image

Fr. Augustus Tolton was born a slave near the town of Hannibal, Missouri (home to Mark Twain). He became the first Black-identified Catholic priest in the United States. Students will visit the site of his Baptism and his tomb. In addition, students will learn about the history of slavery by visiting the Lincoln home and museum, Mark Twain’s home, and the site of the Dred Scott trial. They will also visit the site of Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, which launched the Black Lives Matter Movement, and they will meet with those struggling for justice today.

The featured activity of the Memphis destination is the National Civil Rights Museum on the site of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination. It is also home to one of the most famous Catholic social service sites, St. Jude’s Hospital, all in the cradle of Rock and Soul.

Activities Include:

  • Discussions led by local resources on the history and current situation of racism in society and the Church.
  • Meeting local young people to discuss racial justice, ideally at Jesuit schools.
  • Visit two Underground Railroad stations
  • Visit Fr. Tolton birthplace and tomb
  • Visit Delta Sharecropping Museum
  • Visit National Civil Rights Museum
  • Visit Lincoln Museum, home, and tomb
  • Visit to the Dred Scott exhibit
  • Ride to top of the Gateway Arch
  • Visit to the Mark Twain Museum
  • Visit site of Michael Brown’s death
  • Tour of Memphis Confederate sites
  • Tour of New Cathedral in Saint Louis
For more information, visit the: Saint Christopher Journeys website.

Indigenous Culture, Spirituality and Ecology | Santa Fe, New Mexico

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Indigenous Culture, Spirituality and Ecology | Santa Fe, New Mexico

Cathedral of Basilica Church, image by ArtTower on Pixabay

This inspiring and transformational educational program offers local and visiting student and adult groups the opportunity to experience community-based, real-life learning. Hands-on learning, community dialogue, and volunteer service learning activities are offered in Santa Fe, New Mexico around the issues of Indigenous Spirituality, Catholic community, and ecological justice.

Real-life learning activities are shaped to support specific learning objectives such as: Sustainable Living, Food Security, Environmental Stewardship, Catholic Social Teachings, Architecture, Adobe, Women's Studies, Chicano Studies, Ethnic Studies, Health and Well-Being, and Decolonization.

For more information, visit the Community Learning Network (CLN) website.

St. Oscar Romero International Immersion Program

The Office of Campus Ministry has had a long tradition of offering students the opportunity to spend time in other countries to learn about the realities, hopes, and struggles of those living in situations of economic, political, or social marginalization.

Named for Archbishop Oscar Romero, a patron saint of the Americas martyred for his unwavering pursuit of justice for the poor and marginalized, the International Immersion program aims to deepen students’ relationships with God, themselves, and others through:

  • Sharing in the lives of those living in poverty through short-term service projects and living experiences
  • Reflecting critically on issues of faith and justice
  • Being exposed to the wonderful diversity of God's creations through an encounter with those living in a culture different from their own
  • Offering their skills, resources, and gifts for the purpose of creating a more just and loving world

The application process for participants begins several months prior to each trip's departure date, and the commitment continues for several months after each trip's return. This allows for weekly meetings, retreats, and fundraising events, to make connections through local service work and many awareness-building events.

For more information, contact Campus Ministry at kmolloy@fairfield.edu x3266.

"We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted. Knowing that they hold future promise."

- Archbishop Oscar Romero, El Salvador

Recent St. Oscar Romero International Immersion Partners

Working Boy's Center | Quito, Ecuador

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Working Boy's Center | Quito, Ecuador

While in-country, Fairfield students will partner with the Working Boy's Center, a family-centered total development program, geared towards providing education, vocational training and life-skills development for the working children of Quito and their families.

Founded in 1964 to address the educational needs of boys working on the streets shining shoes, the WBCs objective has been to eliminate poverty among working children and their families. To date, over 6,000 families or around 30,000 people have left poverty forever as a result of the Working Boys' Center program. In 2007, the Working Boys' Center commissioned an external study of the impact of operations on its beneficiaries. The results concluded that the WBC method has successfully inserted 75% of its graduates into society and the labor market, due to the integral education received at the WBC.

While partnering with the work and accompaniment of the WBC, program participants will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of programs and projects, including teaching with year-long volunteers, working in the center's workshop, dispensary, soup kitchen and surrounding mission stations, as well as working to build a house for a local family in a community-sponsored program called a "minga."

Learn more about the Center for Working Families.

Testimonials

“We focus on building relationships, recognizing we have no special insight into the challenges faced by the people we meet. We have nothing more to offer than human relationship. In that, we also recognize that we are offered the grace of human relationship from the people we meet.”

– Kevin Molloy
Campus Minister for Domestic and International Immersion

Pat Cole '20

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Pat Cole '20

"I went to San Diego in March of 2019. The trip was very enlightening as I was able to learn so much about the Chicano community in San Diego. The company “Via International” did an amazing job of educating our group, as well as many college students around the country about issues of gentrification surrounding the Chicano community. We were also informed about very prevalent issues involving border control and ICE. We couldn’t have asked for a more hospitable and welcoming treatment from the staff at Via International and are forever grateful for the experience."

– Pat Cole '20

Mark Korst '21

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Mark Korst '21

“I travelled with a group from campus ministry to a small town in Eastern Kentucky to learn about a different culture and serve others. I participated in this trip two times, and they were both life-changing experiences. We volunteered with an organization called the Christian Appalachian Project and served alongside students from schools from all around the country. We provided home repairs to families in need in the area, and they were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I would definitely recommend this immersion trip for anybody looking to branch out, as it was a pleasant way to expand my world view.”

– Mark Korst ‘21

Peter Toutoulis '22

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Peter Toutoulis '22

"The immersion trip program has been instrumental to my experience at Fairfield. I have met so many amazing people through immersion trips and had the opportunity to learn so much about how everyday actions can lead to change. We were welcomed into a community of people who treated us as people they had known for years. The opportunity to travel to different parts of the country and the world and learn about different cultures and people provide an experience that helps to form you as a person. I am forever grateful for the immersion trips and the experiences they’ve provided."

– Peter Toutoulis '22

Connor Ward '21

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Connor Ward '21

"Immersions are a wonderful experience. They allowed me to immerse myself in a new culture, new experiences, new perspectives and allowed me to meet some amazing people! Immersions are very unique and allowed me to better myself as a person and as a Catholic."

– Connor Ward '21

Joe Diacetis '21

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Joe Diacetis '21

"Going into my Ecuador trip, I was excited to immerse myself in a new culture and help those in need. However, I never expected the trip to have such a powerful impact on my life and my spirituality. I truly left Ecuador as a different man with a different perspective on my life, my beliefs, my values, and my relationship with God. I could not recommend participating in an immersion trip more."

– Joe Diacetis '21

Olivia McEvoy '19

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Olivia McEvoy '19

"Some of my fondest memories from Fairfield have to do with the programs I participated in through the retreats and immersion programs. Not only that, but as I look back on these experiences, I think of how much each one shaped me, helped me to grow, or push me to continue to better myself and my knowledge of the world around me. The friendships I made and the moments I got to experience with new friends and old are things I will always look back on with immense gratitude."

– Olivia McEvoy '19

Katie Mullen '20

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Katie Mullen '20

“During my trip to San Diego, I got to explore the topics of immigration and Chicano culture. I really didn’t know what I didn’t know and this experience allowed me to be a listener to the stories of those around me.”

– Katie Mullen '20

Courtney Krechel '20

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Courtney Krechel '20

"I traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico on a service immersion trip during my senior year spring break. I only knew one person going on the trip with me, but by the end of the week, I felt like I had gained ten new family members. We learned from and worked with Native Americans in the Santa Fe region, helped on a horse farm, and even explored a national park called Bandelier. It was one of the most eye-opening and peaceful weeks of my life, and I feel so blessed to have been able to see New Mexico in the company of some of the most incredible people I have met. I would encourage anyone willing to put themselves out there and learn from people they barely know to go and experience on a service immersion trip!"

– Courtney Krechel '20

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