BCU students spend break on service trip

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
March 10, 2005

Students from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City experienced the true value of service while on an alternative spring break trip to Mississippi.

A group of 16 students and two adult chaperones traveled to Okolona and Morton, Miss. to serve the two communities during their break. The group was split into two groups of eight students and one adult. They left on Feb.24 from BC in school vans and returned to campus on March 5.

The group of 18 was able to visit the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn. on the way to their respective sites.

The first group went to Okolona and included Dr. Paula Scraba, an education professor at BCU, Micki Paris, Anne Ryant, Matthew Benson, Justin Coury, Carrie Campbell, Timothy Sterling Osterman, Michelle See and Tiffany Bauerly. The group stayed in the volunteer house that is part of the Excel, a tutoring program, building that they worked in.

While in Okolona, the group worked with six sisters from different religious communities.

Each morning at 8:30 there was a session that covered issues from racism to economics to segregation to education. The sessions were a basic run down of what it is like to live in Okolona and what the people there experience.

"It was the women of Okolona that spoke to us either about their personal experiences within their families or trying to provide educational programs," said Dr. Scraba.

During the day, the group would go to the retail store in Okolona that the sisters run and help sort clothes and other items that have been donated. The morning was usually composed of physical labor.

There was a new addition recently added to the store and the job of the BC group was to transfer all the goods from one storage area down stairs into the back of the store. The old storage will be used for a summer arts and craft program.

In the afternoon, the volunteers tutored in the Excel program to elementary and middle school students. The group was divided into two teams that took turns either tutoring or doing physical labor.

"The unique thing with Excel is that there are no boundaries, everyone is welcome," said Dr. Scraba. "Because there are no boundaries, people really put down their guard to really look at the person as a person."

The Okolona group was able to experience three different services on Feb. 27. They first went to a Catholic church as well as a Methodist and Baptist church. At the Baptist church, the group participated in a Black History Month program.

Scraba commented that the students were amazed at how they were accepted into the other churches. The van got stuck in the mud and the parishioners helped the group push it out in their church clothes, no questions asked.

In the evening, the group members took turns cooking and cleaning after meals. They also watched different videos about the Civil Rights movement and freedom schools and had reflections on the videos and what they were experiencing.

Paris commented that she really experienced God on the trip through other members of the group she traveled with from BC. The team got along well and got to know each other during the week, she explained.

"The sisters that are down there and the work that they do, they are always happy even when it seems like they are not making progress. They are always looking ahead and seeing what they can do for the community. Everything that they do is so selfless," said Paris.

The second group went to Morton and included Sister Janet May, campus minister at BCU, Mike Jensen, Ashley Hittle, Katie Helling, Jacob Jiminez, Michael Tschampl, Christy Huls, Katie Severson and Adam Dinslage. Morton is about 30 miles from Jackson, Miss.

This team helped a group of Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque that live in Morton. Sister Camila Hemann, OSF, is a hospice nurse. Sister Nona Meyerhoffer, OSF, runs the Excel program. Sister Terri Rodela, OSF, does youth and Hispanic outreach and works for Catholic Charities. Sister Eileen Hauswald, OSF, works three quarter time in a parish in Jackson as a pastoral associate and one fourth time at Excel in computers.

This group stayed in a group camp in sleeping bags and bunks. They lived very simply and traveled into town to work each day.

"I really wanted to give back," said Tschampl, a junior art and theology major at BC. "I have been very blessed with several gifts from several people that have really helped me going. I decided that it is my time to pay it forward."

This group did several types of service and helped many people. They participated in everything from tutoring to cleaning at the education center to refinishing a floor to delivering furniture to painting and repair work and many things in between.

They also prepared a retreat for Hispanic children that they presented on Feb. 27. The students did the planning, gave the talks and were the small group leaders. There were students from Mexico, Argentina, Peru, El Salvador and Cuba.

Each afternoon was spent in the Excel tutoring center. Some volunteers tutored high school students and others tutored grade school students.

"As a social worker and attending a Franciscan college, it is kind of my call and my duty to go out and help those who are in need of help. I have so much in my life that I felt I needed to give back to some people," said Huls, a junior social work major and writing minor at BC. "I saw people who had so much love and compassion. They were so grateful."

In the evening, the group had faith sharing to talk about their experiences and process them. They watched the film Mississippi Burning one evening.

"In encountering the poverty, one thing we all noticed is that no matter how tough the conditions were, the people living in those conditions were happy and content. They made due with what they had," said Tschampl.

Another evening, the Morton group was able to attend a program on human rights. Workers from the chicken factory, a main source of work for immigrants, spoke out about the conditions that they work under and the unfair treatment. The union leaders were there to hear how these people's rights were not being respected. Those speaking out knew that if they spoke up they might lose their job.

"It was an incredible experience," said Sister Janet. "I think the students very much got a feel of the oppressive conditions that these people sometimes face."

Sister Janet commented that hopes the BCU students got a deeper understanding of immigrants and the conditions they work under while in Morton.

"They experienced the extreme dedication of Franciscans in Morton and the way they related to the people and how much the people respected and appreciated them," said Sister Janet. "They definitely saw another culture. We also built tremendously strong communities. Students learned to affirm each other and work together with each other."