March of my freshman year I found myself in a desert.
I had flown there with 18 other people who had essentially been strangers to me until we reached California, but who, upon arrival, became some of my closest friends. It was my first H.O.P.E. trip, the first service trip I had ever done, my first time on the west coast, my first flight without my family, and definitely the first time I had used power tools. That week we worked in the Coachella Valley, alongside the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, an amazing organization that aims to provide families with adequate housing and a solid community.
Throughout the week we learned about how families apply for the program and are accepted in groups who work on their houses together until the finished product is not one house, but a community, a network of homes and families and support. We learned about immigration reform and the injustices that people in the area face, and we met the community leaders who were doing something about it. We marveled at the mountains and the desert, which almost none of us had ever seen before, but the beauty of the landscape took a backseat to the beauty of the people. I have never felt more welcomed into a community than I did that week. We didn’t just build houses, we met people, we listened to their stories and they listened to ours, we ate and we laughed and we prayed alongside members of the community, and somewhere in those moments our lives were forever changed.
Since then I’ve been on two other trips, both of which I could also write long, cheesy essays about that would never truly do them justice, but they also have given me more than I could ever give back. This year, as I prepare to embark on my fourth trip, I know that there is someone out there who is on the fence about applying. Maybe you’re scared you won’t know anyone. Maybe you’re scared of flying or traveling away. Maybe you think that come March, you’re going to need a break. Maybe you’re thinking of reasons to talk yourself out of it.
Stop.
If you do anything here at Stonehill, do this. Do this to honor the communities you are working with. Whether you are working with a homeless shelter, repairing houses, learning about environmental sustainability or any other social justice area, do H.O.P.E. to honor the people you are serving, to see them as people, just like you are a person. Do this to form real human connections.
Do this to meet people who you don’t know yet. Your H.O.P.E. group isn’t small talk and pleasantries, it’s discussions about human dignity, connections, pain and happiness. It bypasses the polite, superficial friendships and delves deep into our cores. My H.O.P.E. people are my people for life. Over the past three years, they have become some of my best friends, my support system and my inspirations in all aspects of life. If you apply, you are applying to be with people who want to change the world.
Do this to see somewhere you might have never seen otherwise. If you had told me, when I first started at Stonehill, that I would fall in love with Eastern Kentucky, there’s no chance I would have believed you. H.O.P.E. brings you places you would never have gone on your own, it brings you to meet people who you would never have met, and it forms connections and awareness about different areas that would have never been made otherwise.
Do this to find your passion. My freshman year I was lost and didn't know what I was doing, and H.O.P.E. really has shown me that I want to dedicate my life to service. You never know what way it will impact you.
H.O.P.E. is an acronym that stands for Honoring your neighbor, Organizing for justice, Practicing peace and Encountering God, and I promise that your H.O.P.E. trip will experience each of those letters firsthand. Do H.O.P.E. to see each of those letters lived out in the people around you.
H.O.P.E. is an inclusive program, and you can be of any religious affiliation or background to apply. Applications are due September 23rd, and they can be found, along with more information, on the website, www.stonehill.edu/hope.
March of my freshman year, I found myself in a desert, then again in a city, then again in Kentucky. This spring I hope you find yourself somewhere too.
