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

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Honesty leads I was terrified to leave on the trip that would become the highlight of my summer. The first days quickly blurred together. The unfamiliar new environment was rough- we had to wake up at five am, socialize with complete strangers, simulate a homeless lifestyle, and sleep in a parking lot- all in 100 degree weather. However, this crazy situation had a positive outcome. Suddenly, our shared experience gave my group members and I something in common, and although we came from drastically different social circles we began to bond. Throughout the next week and a half, all of us 1. Geneva Vogelheim, Ronald Martin, Haley Kaplan. Padraig Buckley. Alison Edwards and Emma Goyette rally for Safe Ground. 2. Sacramento group hang out at Old Sac. 3. Timothy O'Reilly and Emma Goyette work at Mustard Seed School. 4. Timothy O'Reilly. Emma Goyette. Lauren Murray, and Alison Edwards play cards at Loaves and Fishes. 5. The girls swim on their day off. 6. Lauren Murray. Alison Edwards and Emma Goyette make a new friend. grew closer. Because we felt comfortable with each other, we could communicate easily with complete strangers-homeless people and other volunteers alike- whom we previously would not have given a second thought. We made friends and quickly grew angry when we learned that several of them, some children, fell victim to homelessness due to injustice and sheer misfortune. For two weeks I was surrounded by people who immediately felt comfortable sharing their stories of their lives. Such honesty astounded me. Honesty leads to understanding, and isn’t Social Justice about empathy just as much as it is about working in a soup kitchen? Immersion taught us to spread this message and to invoke passion through compassion- in other words, the only way to solve problems like homelessness is to understand the people who suffer from them. -Emma Goyette 24 Sacramento Immersion

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@risK 1. Monica Fernandez gives a piggy back ride to a young girt in Salinas. 2. Martin Reidy jokes around with a fellow companion. 3. Salmas Group gathers in Dorothy's Place. 4. Sophia Metone holds her lettuce after picking it. 5. Salinas Group stands nobly before the risk . 6. Abigail Otto stands with a volunteer in Dorothy's Place. 7. Abigail Otto. Sofi Gomez. Marlin Reidy. Monica Fernandez. Claire Holl, Michael Hartman, Paolo DiGiovanni, and Sophia Melone pose in front of a statue in Salinas. Oldest Language Bottomless boat races, mountains of freshly cut strawberries, and dancing to ‘‘La Bamba ... welcome to Salinas Immersion! Last summer, the eight of us opened our hearts and minds to new experiences and new people. We were challenged by certain aspects of the trip, such as being responsible for two energetic children, camping in tents that sometimes refused to stay up, and sleeping on the floor for two weeks. Though we had a bit of difficulty at first, these obstacles helped us grow together as a community and learn to help each other out. In our first week, we worked at Dorothy's Kitchen, a soup kitchen that serves the Salinas community. We met many amazing and wise people who have prevailed through difficult situations. One of these people, a man named Terry, taught us (and reminded us daily) that ‘‘Love is the oldest language.” In the second week, we got to know children from Camphora, a migrant worker camp, at Camp St. Francis. We bonded with our campers while swimming in the Salinas River, singing around the campfire, and doing art projects. Over the whole experience, we had a fabulous time learning to make people for all different backgrounds part of our family. -Salinas Immersion Group Salinas Immersion 23

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Understanding Community Our immersion experience was challenging to say the least. The 8 of us left behind cell phones, ipods, junk food, and beds for two weeks in order to fully understand the communities we lived it. We were forced to try new things and 'body surf through the two weeks. In Boyle Heights, we were confronted with a community defined and destroyed by the presence of gangs. However, we also witnessed a community that came together in crisis to protect their children from a common evil. By working at the Dolores Mission School, participating in Aztec dancing, and eating pupusas we experienced the community of Boyle Heights. In our second week in West Hollywood, we saw firsthand the unequal and unjust distribution of wealth in one of the country's richest cities. Two blocks from the Kodak Theater, we worked and lived at the Blessed Sacrament social services organization. There we cooked, cleaned, organized, and socialized with homeless people who come there to get some food, take a shower, and find some new clothes. Though we gave up a lot when we went on the East LA Immersion, all 8 of us gained much more in our time in Boyle Heights and West Hollywood. -Kristen Harris 1. Kristen Harris showing off her Homeboy Industries. 2. Julia Anaya and Christina Vlahos looking fierce. 3. John O'Malley and Dolores Mission Students smiling for the camera. 4. East LA group at Homeboy Industries. 5. John O'Malley. Christina Vlahos, Claire Collins. David Pating preparing to cook a fabulous meal. East LA Immersion 25