St Ignatius College Prepatory - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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Immersions San Francisco: Rick Scott, Ryan Bjorkquist, Leslie Velasco. Pheobe Meharg, Megan Cotter,Caroline Vaughan. San Francisco “So hopefully our group from Tacoma (we fondly call ourselves the ‘Narx - don’t ask, long story) can bring back to SI all the things we learned about ourselves and our community mem- bers. Try not to look confused if we ask you, ‘What’s the haps?’Trust me, it’s a Tacoma thing.” -Jessica Brown Tacoma: Dan Mason, Catherine Payne, Kim Roth, Allison Mistica, John Gannon, Ms. Schwarz. Liz Gress, Carla Holleran. Jessica Brown, Ms. Ahlbach (not pictured). It is hard to find a way to deal with these problems in our so- ciety without offending a few people. Whatever Fr. River Sims’ approach, fulfilling need where need is seen is a noble and practical way to help the poor and downtrodden of San Francisco.” -Rick Scott anoiaiemml 25 Immersions

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Domestic “When [we] stepped out of the big white SI van, we realized that these stereotypes were complete fiction. On the corner, young children were buying ice cream from a man pushing a cart. Various people walked up to us and welcomed us to the neighborhood. Music echoed out of the small Dolores Mission Church across the street. When I saw this, I knew the next two weeks of my life would be amazing. We left for our East LA Immersion on June 10, 2001, ready, willing, and a little nervous about living in one of the most violent, gang- ridden areas in the United States. The two weeks we spent Peter Osborne. Annie Morring, Natasha LaBelle. Matt Werner, Leslie Hurley, Kathryn Lawson, Jillian Lai, Mrs. Zatkin. “In Salinas, we were in- spired by Robert Smith’s (the founder of the soup kitchen, Dorothy’s Place) exemplification of the Gos- pel message to see God in those we worked with, de- spite being appalled by the socio-economic injustice taking place in our state. Sharing a realistic experi- ence of communal living, we opened up as a group to each other an to those destitute, with whom we formed unbreakable relationships, which we have renewed since our initial Immersion trip. It was a profound experience.” Matt Werner seemed like a day that had gone by far too quickly, because we greatly enjoyed all of our daily activities.” -Corey Pallatto Corey Palatto, Jenny Syme. Ashley Tatantino, Gina Cadei, Stephanie Yeung, Joe Sciarillo, Thomas Hong. Mr. Shaughnessy. anoiaiemml 24 Immersions

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International Immersions El Salvador “Community has a new definition in our eyes—not only a collection of people but also a feeling of be- longing to a group of people. We learned from them; they learned from us.” -Alena Chaps ‘02 n July 21. Allie, Gina, Jen, Julie, Kelly, Molly, Ivan, and I embarked on a journey that forever changed the way we viewed our country, our attitude, and ourselves toward the world. Through our immersion experience to El Salva- dor, we all learned what being men and women for and with others truly means. We learned about our own materialism, our country's disturbing foreign policy, and our interconnectedness and sameness with every human that walks the planet. The first week we spent in a small village, Guarjila, about two hours away from the capital. ...The backbone of the youth community is a group, started by former Jesuit John Guillano, named Tamarindos, to which Juven belonged. After the long civil war. the group was formed to encourage community and discourage destructive behavior. Many of the Tamarindos shared their stories with us. A young man our age named Mauricio told us about his experience during the the war. A shiver shot up my spine to think that my government contaminated the childhood of Mauricio while I watched Sesame Street and finger-painted, totally oblivious to others’ struggles. Guarjila was a time of sharing and community. After the small village of Guarjila, we moved into the capital and largest city, San Salvador. We spent most of the time sightseeing. One place that inspired powerful feelings was the cathedral where Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated. ...We passed the next two days in another village, Usalatan. Our sadness dissolved into the joy of folk dancing and sharing stories with a local youth group. When we returned to San Salvador, we met with yet another youth group, Nueva Generacion. They gave us a bleak tour of the city and shared their struggles with drugs, gang violence, and hopelessness. San Salvador and Usalatan extended our community. The most beneficial result of the Immersion program for our group was discovering a sense of community. We formed a community within our group, but, most importantly, a community with El Salvador Group: Jenny Driscoll, Alexandra Livezey, Kelly Kramer. Gina Julie Casey, Ivan Molly Van Houten, Alena Chaps (with directors Pat Cody and Jorge Garcia) the people we encountered in El Salvador. Community has a new definition in our eyes—not only a collection of people, but also a feeling of belonging to a group of people. We learned from them; they learned from us. The feeling of community could be seen through friendliness, kindness, and openness. Relationships become the most important possessions in one’s life. Returning to the United States was difficult. I felt disillusioned with the govern- ment and the materialistic attitude that capitalism creates. No, I did not come back a communist (whatever that is), but I came back with a critical eye for the world around me. Most of all, I, along with the rest of the group, returned home with a sense of community with mis amigos from El Salva- dor. Written By Alena Chaps for Inside SI nml 9S 26 Immersions