Over the course of its history, the Bellarmine experience has built a reputation of being impactful due to its many traditions. During the summer, one of the most special traditions continued in full force. Dedicated to the Jesuit mission of creating global citizens, the international program carried out three ambitious trips. Accepted student applicants traveled to Mexico for cultural and language immersion, Europe to learn about war history, and Panama for service in partnership with Courts For Kids. According to the student travelers, the trip’s benefits went beyond historical education and practicing foreign languages. Not only did their ideas of community broaden, but so did their perspectives of their place in the world.
Take it from senior Ava Mitchell, one of the two dozen students who traveled to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic in late June. She experienced firsthand the benefits of international education when visiting the historical concentration camp Dachau from World War II: “You feel something that you will never feel again.”
Mitchell’s trip mate and fellow senior, Landon Mitchell, added to her sentiments describing how he learned to overcome language barriers and maintain new connections. He said, “There was more opportunity for me to branch out,” referring to both his time interacting with European locals, as well as within his own group of students, some of which he said he never would have met if not for the trip.
In a similar way, junior Edward Cummings described the way traveling to Guadalajara broadened his perspective of the world. After meeting culturally diverse people across many ages at his home stay location, Cummings said, “The trip inspired me to be more open to different cultural experiences.”
Panama travelers were able to form relationships with local students at the Penonome school where they built a sports court. Junior Lexie Crist explained how students learned to make jokes and work alongside locals despite cultural and language differences. When asked how she hopes to implement the trip’s lessons into her own community, Crist said, “[I] want to be a person who is open to everyone and seek out people that are different than me.”
Crist’s comment sums up the best impact of Bellarmine’s international program experience: bridging the benefits of real-world education and becoming active leaders in community. By fostering teamwork, bonding over long days, and taking part in a multicultural community, students experienced how they can make the world a better place.
