Arrupe Immersions

What is an Arrupe Immersion Trip?

The Arrupe Immersion Program provides students with the opportunity to experience different cultures and socioeconomic environments, to witness first hand the challenges faced by marginalized communities and to begin asking difficult questions:
How did this happen? Why did it happen? And hopefully, what can I do to change it?

In this way, these immersion trips honor the Jesuit vision of educating the whole person. Students often learn as much about themselves and their own country as the place that they are visiting.

Their students live and work with one another and participate in daily prayer/reflection activities. Each immersion group meets regularly in the months leading up to the departure of their trips.

For more information or to pick up an application, please visit the University Ministry office in Lower Phelan Hall.

The application deadline for all Arrupe Immersions is October 1, 2008.

Why are they called "Arrupe" Immersions?
These immersion experiences draw their inspiration from the life and work of Pedro Arrupe. S.J., former Superior General of the Society of Jesus. Fr. Arrupe stressed that students at Jesuit institutions need to be agents of change in society.

Where can I go?

2009-2010 Immersions

Lima, Peru
March 14-20th, 2010.

program starts: March 14th (arrive in Lima on the 13th)
Program ends: March 20th (leave from Lima to SFO on the 21st)
Cost: $1000 per person (room, board, transportation inside the country included). Plene ticket, insurance, and airport tax is not included.
Number of students: 13
In Lima we are going to meet with former street children and understand the wold through their eyes. The second half of the trip we will be visiting groups in the rainforest to understand their environmental cosmovision.
Applications are already in UM, due Oct.1st.

Previous Programs

Two-Day Immersions

Lobby Day to End Human Trafficking
Washington D.C.
October 8-9, 2008

27 million people are enslaved today.  Help put an end to human trafficking.  

Students participate in a series of workshops on lobbying, human trafficking and smart activism.  With this newly acquired knowledge, students take part in a lobbying event to engage congress on this important issue.
  
Immigrant Stories from the Farmland
Salinas, CA
October 11-12, 2008

On this immersion trip, students are invited into the lives of female immigrant farm workers in the Salinas Valley.  Come and be inspired by the stories of these amazing women and learn about the challenges and opportunities that they grapple with on a daily basis.  

Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice
Columbus, GA
Nov 21-23, 2008

Since 1995, Jesuits, former Jesuits, lay pastoral leaders, and the broader Ignatian family have gathered at the gates of Fort Benning, GA, to call for the closure of the School of the Americas (SOA) and to commemorate the deaths of the Salvadoran Jesuit martyrs, their housekeeper and her daughter, the four churchwomen, and the many other men, women, and children who have been innocent victims of civil war and bloodshed.

In an effort to organize students and families attending the protest, leaders from the Ignatian family created the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, where thousands of participants gather for two days prior to the SOA vigil, to dialogue and strategize about ways to confront issues of injustice, poverty, and oppression both nationally and internationally.

Convened every fall, the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice has come to hold particular significance as the largest meeting place of individuals from U.S. Jesuit-affiliated institutions, gathering in a remarkable display of solidarity to bear witness to the legacy of faith in action. University Ministry is proud to be a part of this tradition and each year sends 10 students to the Teach-In as representatives of USF.    
     

Ignatian Family Teach-In on Immigration
Washington, D.C.
March 13-16, 2009

Each year, the Spring Ignatian Family Teach-In brings together people from Jesuit institutions across the country to examine a specific justice issue that is of serious concern for the Ignatian family. The purpose of the spring event is two-fold. First, the teach-in provides education and social analysis on a specific justice issue by inviting a range of speakers to share their personal experience, theological reflections, community organizing strategies and advocacy efforts relevant to that issue. Secondly, the Spring Teach-In empowers participants with the skills, education, and experience needed to engage others in discussion, reflection, and social action.

The theme of this year’s Spring Teach-In is Immigration.

Descriptions courtesy of the Ignatian Solidarity Network  ( www.ignatiansolidarity.net )

Week-long Immersions

Lima, Peru
March 23-29, 2009 (Spring Break)

The Arrupe Immersion program in Peru works closely with shelters that protect and defend street children's rights. USF Students will learn about the challenges and possibilities of working with these children. Because the program varies according to the focus of each trip and the special interest of the group, itineraries become available closer to the actual date of departure.
         

New Orleans, Louisiana
March 23-29, 2009 (Spring Break)

University Ministry sponsors a weeklong service immersion trip the gulf coast.  Students learn about justice issues arising in the aftermath of Huricane Katrina and strengthen the bonds of solidarity with those living on the margins before and after the storm.  Students also participate in much needed community rebuilding projects.

Dominican Republic
March 23-29, 2009 (Spring Break)

The Arrupe Immersion program in the Dominican Republic is focused on Human Rights.  Based at the Jesuit Center for Human Rights, students learn about and reflect upon local social issues with a special emphasis on the plight of the Haitian refugee population.    

Two-Week Summer Immersion

Nairobi
August 2009

Following the extraordinary success of the MAGiS'08 program in Sydney, Australia (July 08), this year’s gathering will take place in Nairobi, Kenya.  Young adults (20s & 30s) from Jesuit schools and agencies around the world will meet in Kenya before setting off on service projects in various East African locations. All pilgrims will then re-gather in Nairobi to reflect on their experiences and to discuss the benefits of cross-cultural partnership.

How do I apply?
Students can pick up an application in the University Ministry office. Once all of the applications are collected and reviewed, students will be contacted for interviews. Decisions are made by early November for all Immersion trips.

Participant fees help cover the cost of the trip. During group meetings, students can plan individual and group fundraising activities to cover their expenses.

This year's fees have yet to be decided.

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