News Detail

Students Embark on the Juntos Service Expedition

7/19/2017

Tamia Fowlkes, DSHA '18

Anxious, excited, and optimistic are all emotions that DSHA students experience before embarking on a thrilling, “life-changing” service expedition to Quito, Ecuador in June.

Juntos, a two-week annual service trip offered to DSHA juniors, allows students to work alongside faculty at The Working Boys Center in Quito, Ecuador to serve impoverished families and their children. Spanish teacher Martha Parks, has coordinated the Juntos trip for the past 5 years and explained that, “The trip allows the girls to immerse themselves into Spanish culture and to understand the true meaning of service work by surrounding themselves with volunteers who have dedicated their lives to helping the poor communities of Ecuador”. Parks took a break from attending the trip this year, but students are in good hands with theology teacher Judie Gillespie as a chaperone. This year, without a DSHA Spanish teacher to attend the trip with them, the girls relied on each other heavily for language support and pushed themselves to expand their knowledge of the Spanish culture.

Initially, the idea of full immersion into a completely Spanish-speaking community was terrifying to DSHA rising seniors Katie Schulz, Maddie Drezek, Kordelia Eisenreich, Stephanie Franzak, Elisa Goodman, Courtney Mauk, Ali Schell, and Diana Aponte; however, the knowledge and confidence that they gained from their experiences at school challenged them to grow and develop throughout their time in Quito. The girls, whose Spanish-speaking backgrounds varied in level, could easily attest that the language barrier was intimidating, but never doubted that, “The kids, especially the younger ones, did not care whether we spoke Russian, Italian, or Mandarin Chinese, they were just satisfied when we came to play with them, teach them, and love them,” Eisenreich stated. Leaving their apprehension about the coming weeks aside, the girls were able to utilize being in a small group to motivate them to try new things and grow as Spanish speakers.

Whether the girls were serving the children, hiking through Pululuahua, or visiting the local ice cream shop for a treat after dinner, every moment the girls spent together in Quito transformed their perception of their everyday lives in America. Drezek exclaims when discussing her post-trip experiences that she now understands how fortunate she is in America. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I never realized how privileged that I am to have the problems that I do. I come home everyday to a warm bed, a loving family, and an abundance of food, but never realized how dismissive I was being towards other world issues when I complained about being unable to find a phone charger,”she noted after returning home. Eisenreich added, “Most of those kids go home to a concrete block of a house with no door, no electricity or plumbing, and one bed for seven people, yet they still find a way to smile and that is truly incredible”. The girls hope that through their experiences they can serve as representatives, supporters, and voices for impoverished people in our local community and throughout the world, and furthermore utilize the lessons, relationships, and moments gained during the Juntos trip to enhance the DSHA community and people throughout the world.

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- DSHA rising seniors served at La Iglesia de la Compañia during their trip.
- Rising Seniors Diana Aponte, Kordelia Eisenreich, and Maddie Drezek give piggy-back rides to the kids at the Working Boys Center.
- Rising senior Katie Schulz plays with one of the children in Quito.