DATE: October 6, 2006
MEDIA CONTACT: Melanie McDonald, director of media relations
PHONE: 574-284-4579
E-MAIL: mmcdonal@saintmarys.edu

Fall “Break” For Saint Mary’s Students Means Service and Learning

NOTRE DAME, Ind.—For many Saint Mary’s College students, fall break is not a time to go home and sleep late. It is a week of learning, reflection, and—in some cases—hard physical labor. Regardless of the endeavor, these students are working to improve themselves and the lives of others.

Katrina Work: 100 Houses in 1 Year About 15 Saint Mary’s students and three faculty members will take a van to St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana to work with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity on their "100 houses in 1 year" project. One of the faculty members going is Karen Chambers, a psychology professor who was stranded in New Orleans during the hurricane last year.

In addition to homebuilding, students will hear testimonials about the storm from a professor at East St. Tammany Community College, a journalist who has a slide show of the storm’s after effects, and a woman who was in both the Superdome and the Convention Center during Katrina. Saint Mary’s College Center for Spirituality Director Sister Kathleen Dolphin, PBVM, has worked with her congregation to help raise money to offer a donation to the speakers, who are all still displaced by the storm.

The group leaves early on Saturday, Oct. 14 and returns late on Saturday, Oct. 21.
Contact: Prof. Karen Chambers, 284-4528, kchamber@saintmarys.eduCatalyst Trip
Now in its fifth year, the fall break Catalyst Trip brings together women from the Saint Mary’s and Michiana communities for an educational weeklong experience aimed at enlightening their thinking and supporting their leadership.

Participants board a bus headed for Grailville near Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 15, after a workshop on the Saint Mary’s campus the day before. Founded in 1943 by 14 religious women on 300 acres of land, Grailville today is a center for alternative education and leadership training for women that focuses on empowerment, spirituality, social justice and the environment. The next stop is the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, where participants will learn about the history of slavery and the people who fought for slaves’ freedom. Finally, participants will visit The Peaslee Neighborhood Center in Cincinnati, a re-claimed school building dedicated to the educational and cultural development as well as the political empowerment of the people who live nearby.

Throughout the Catalyst Trip, there will be various workshops and discussions on topics such as racism and privilege, community organizing and development, and poverty.

Contact: Bonnie Bazata, CWIL director of community connections, 284-4579, bbazata@saintmarys.eduPilgrimage to Mexico

Five Saint Mary's students and one student from the University of Notre Dame will go to La Guadalupana in Mexico, where some Sisters of the Holy Cross are serving. They will spend time learning about the children, teens and elderly of the parish there in order to better understand the apostolic mission of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and how that mission impacts their lives and the Church in a global world.

Participating students applied for this trip and were accepted last spring. They have been preparing for the pilgrimage since the start of the school year with weekly sessions of prayer, reflection, and education about the culture and the social teachings of the Church.
This is a collaborative effort by three offices at Saint Mary’s: The Office of Civic and Social Engagement, Campus Ministry, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. The trip is Monday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct. 22.

Contacts:
Judy Fean, director of campus ministry, 284-5382, jfean@saintmarys.edu
Larisa Olin Ortiz, assistant director of multicultural affairs, 284-4721, lolinort@saintmarys.edu

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