The Service Immersion retreat took place during the days of Monday May 27th through Thursday May 30th of 2024. 

Current senior Josie Pickerill and attendee of the service immersion trip really enjoyed getting a better understanding of homelessness at the homeless camps. She said, “One of the biggest things about this retreat is that people have misconceptions of what it is like to be homeless and we get these ideas in our minds without actually consulting the people who are actually experiencing homelessness. Hearing from them directly on what they need, what we can do to support them, things like that, it was much more impactful than just hearing about it.”

Current junior Alex Kress, who also attended the service immersion trip has a changed perspective of homelessness than before. He said, “ I view homeless people differently now, in a more open manner. It taught me to not take things for granted as much in my life as I have many things to appreciate.

Francesca Diasio, a senior and student on the service trip last school year valued serving breakfast to the homeless people. She said, “I felt that this was something that really stuck in my mind because I got to see how the homeless live and how thankful they were to be receiving the food from us. It made me realize what they have to go through and how thankful they really were.”

After attending the service trip, Pickerill feels more open to different opportunities and experiences. She said, “I never really envisioned myself actually going to a homeless camp and talking to people. I always thought it would be in a volunteer setting, so I am definitely more open to experiences like that in the future, especially talking to people on a person to person level rather than a volunteer level.

Furthermore, Pickerill felt the group was especially close and got along well. She said, “We all had similar goals and wanted similar things out of the experience, so we all put effort in and had good mindsets. I think especially the group of people that we were with who wanted to make it enjoyable and wanted to get the most out of it that we could, made it very fun.”

Similar to Pickerills views, Kress felt the group that attended the trip made the experience even better. He said, “Friends I already knew, I became closer with and people I did not know originally, I became friends with. Now I have a better bond and a shared experience with these people.”

Pickerill appreciated the teachers asking questions that went beyond the surface of what the group was learning. She said, “Especially when we were in discussion groups, we wouldn’t necessarily have the right words to express our opinions so they were there to help us with that and expand the question. They were more knowledgeable about these things, so it helped us.”

Finally, Diasio encourages other students to apply for the next service immersion trip. She said, “I think it was a really good experience overall. It expanded my thoughts on the homeless and the environment from what I originally knew.”