Application Process
Selected participants for immersions will be expected to attend 4–5 pre-trip meetings, a post-immersion welcome meeting, and commit to the completion of a Solidarity Action Plan upon their return (1-3 independent meetings).
Summer Break 2023 Immersion
applications are open
Feb 28 - April 9, 2023.
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Immersions
Immersion experiences, both local and global, are designed to help participants see the world with new eyes, to recognize the unjust suffering in a context that is different to their own, practice solidarity with marginalized communities, and to allow those experiences to inform their vocational discernment. In the words of Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, the Ignatian Center strives to empower immersion participants "to let the reality of this world into their lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering, and engage it constructively." These immersion experiences, and the profound reflection to which they naturally give rise, are privileged moments of vocational discernment during which participants are uniquely invited to consider their place in the world.
Immersions and ELSJ
Immersions can count as part of your Experiential Learning for Social Justice (ELSJ) requirement. Enroll and participate in an Ignatian Center immersion and request permission for the assessment manager for Undergraduate Studies in advance of beginning the immersion preparation. You will register for a directed study (1 credit) class. Coursework will allow you to reflect on the immersion experience and explore what it means to live in solidarity with our local and global community. Course assignments include critical reflections and an academic research paper.
Summer Break 2023 Immersions
Spring Break 2023 Immersions
The four pillars that guide our immersion programs are:
COMMUNITY
UNITE with individuals from all walks of lifeCREATE potential lifelong friendships
ENGAGE with communities with limited access to wealth, power, and privilege
SPIRITUALITY
LEARN about the Ignatian Spiritual TraditionEXPERIENCE a faith that does justice, and explore what it means to find God in all things
REFLECT on and investigate questions of meaning and purpose in the midst of the world's brokenness
SOCIAL JUSTICE
ACCOMPANY those on the margins who are experiencing various forms of injusticeBUILD relationships, and see, experience, and understand a reality apart from your own
DISCERN how to respond in action
SIMPLICITY
CULTIVATE authentic, just relationshipsREFLECT on the value placed on material goods in your life, the local community, and the greater world
EMBRACE a spirituality of simplicity, and learn to do less in order to be more
The Immersion Process
After applying and being selected for an immersion trip you will participate in the pre-immersion preparation process. Immersion teams will meet 4-5 times in the weeks leading up to the immersion (Tuesdays 5:45-7:15pm) and all participants will attend a weekend retreat intended for team building and reflection on themes that will be deepened through the immersion itself. Immersion participants commit to attending all team meetings and the pre-immersion retreat. These are opportunities for your team to reflect, share and get to know one another, to learn more about the community you will be visiting and the current issues facing that community and to pass on details on trip preparation, travel, etc.
*Please note: As of Winter 2023, all Immersion related meetings will take place on Tuesdays from 5:45-7:15 pm.
On your immersion you will be accompanied by a student Immersion Coordinator and/or an Immersion Companion (SCU faculty, staff, or graduate student). Your immersion team will be hosted by a local organization that will take care of the logistics for your stay. Each immersion varies in terms of what activities you will participate in so please be open and flexible. During your immersion you will have the opportunity engage with the local community and learn about the issues facing its members, as well as connect with the other immersion participants and share in reflection about the impact of the experience.
While the immersion has ended, the full experience is a journey that is never truly over. More than an end goal, we believe that the immersion itself is a starting point for ongoing reflective and critical engagement of the realities of our local and global community. For this reason, participants commit to meeting at least 3 times upon return from the trip to continue processing, sharing stories, and determining next steps toward integrating the immersion experience into life at Santa Clara and beyond. Immersion companions, Ignatian staff members, and other members of the Santa Clara community are here as a resource to assist as you integrate your immersion into post-immersion life.
Our students reflect on the time they spent during their immersion trip to Nicaragua nearly 3 years ago.
Immersions - Making an Impact
After graduating from SCU, Yajaira "Yaya" Morales-Vidovich '11 entered the teaching profession well prepared. It was her experience on immersion trips, however, that Yaya credits for shaping not only her professional path, but her personal journey as well.
During the Summer of 2018, the Ignatian Center sent 8 SCU faculty and staff members to Nogales, Arizona and Sonora, Mexico in collaboration with Kino Border Initiative. This organization helps make humane and just migration between the U.S. and Mexico a reality.
Mandi Sit '20 first encountered the Ignatian Center when she decided to sign up for the San Jose First-Year Immersion trip the summer before starting at SCU. Find out how that trip and her two additional immersion experiences impacted her time at SCU.
