Stories

There is no “you” or “me,” in “we.” The division between “us” and “them” breaks when we step outside of our world and enter another. To see the world through someone else’s eyes, is to acknowledge another human being’s pain, fears, and hopes as if they were our own. Isn’t that what it means to be human? Do we choose to exist as separate, isolated individuals? Or do we choose to be in kinship as a community that is more than the sum of its parts?

Ignatian Center immersions, offered during Summer, Winter, and Spring breaks, give students the chance to offer kinship to others both locally and globally. Not only do participants learn about the injustices of marginalized communities, but they are offered the opportunity to grasp the meaning of solidarity. To participate in an immersion, as one participant has put it, is to step outside the life of a Santa Clara University student and into unity with others: “Without these experiences, we would remain within the privileged SCU environment and population - unable to begin to realize that life, the world, and most people aren't like those of SCU. It would be a shame to enter the world after graduation and be shocked or thrown off by a reality that was always there but never explored.” Immersion experiences give students the opportunity to witness the world as it is and glimpse the stark contrast between privilege and suffering in the world.

This past Winter Break, 17 students embarked on an immersion to either Los Angeles (LA) or the Dominican Republic (DR) to view the world from the perspective of the “other.” For the LA immersion, the Jesuit parish Dolores Mission, whose parishioners address issues in their community through advocacy and connection, hosted one group of SCU students. There, students spent the bulk of their time visiting Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit that fosters hope and healing for formerly incarcerated people. Students on the Dominican Republic immersion delved into issues regarding anti-blackness and its intersection with education, migration, and economic opportunities. The DR immersion was hosted by the Caribbean Social Immersion Program, a social and educational center of the Society of Jesus in the Dominican Republic, and Centro Montalvo, which dedicates itself to implementing programs of accompaniment and social training, as well as research, communication, and advocacy in the DR.

After participating in the winter immersion, students from both trips volunteered to share their experience. One participant who engaged in the Dominican Republic Immersion, Isabel Mendoza ’23 recalled how jarring it was to witness the impoverishment of those in the community in comparison to her.

“Going to the Dominican Republic opened up my eyes to the fact that people have much less than we do and don’t have the same opportunities. Their whole background was in poverty and most of them end up in that same place. They had very little experiences in comparison to us.” 

With regard to these differences, a participant from the LA immersion, Camryn Brown ’24, emphasized how privilege can make one blind to the suffering and injustices someone on the other side of the white picket fence endures.

“I think it can be easy if you’re privileged in any way, to forget that there are experiences different from your own.”

Smiling empathetically, she mentioned that despite the differences in our stories, we are all the same.

“This experience really helped me see that people are just people, regardless of their circumstances or choices. I think at our core, we’re all very similar to each other. But there are some people who end up in situations where they do make choices that lead to them getting incarcerated.”

Without the safety net of privilege that many SCU students have, the people they met were forced into making decisions that landed them in extremely dire situations - both during and after their incarceration. Yet they were filled with an unexpected amount of hope as another student, Arturo Pacheco ‘25 noted.

“It was very impactful to meet people who had gone through difficulties in general and weren’t frustrated by it. Instead, they told themselves, we could use this experience to get frustrated, or use it to make a change and impact people in really beautiful ways. That has stuck with me a lot, coming back.”

When asked how this immersion changed his perspective on the people he encountered, Arturo articulated how just being there and listening to others’ stories is much more valuable than giving them advice.

“I don’t think advice is what is needed. I think what’s needed is just listening to people who’ve had a difficult, marginalized experience so that you create that community. You break down the you and me, us versus them. When you listen, you’re just taking the experience that they have and you’re trying to figure out and the division stops. You listen and it’s just us.” 

Despite the differences in the two communities in two distinct places, students from both immersion trips were able to acknowledge the importance of recognizing our humanity despite our various circumstances or labels. As Arturo put it elegantly,

“Going to Homeboy made it crystal clear what the Homeboy Way means when they say this word of kinship. We’re not sharing the same blood, but the message is we are the same. We share the same last name. We’re human beings. Regardless of all the labels that you have, or I have. We’re family.”

Although we can never truly know another’s reality until we walk a mile in their shoes, only when we shatter the invisible glass that separates us from the other, can we truly begin the path towards community and solidarity. 

“I think it really broadens anyone’s experience in the world, to be able to consider what it is like to be someone who is not yourself,” Camryn concluded.

When we open up our eyes to the injustices others face, we can take upon others’ suffering as our own. Only then, can we truly know what it means to be human beings, part of one and the same family.

- Jacqui Jones '23