Immersion Experiences
Apply for and view upcoming service experiences
The Immersion application for the Summer of 2024 opens on November 8. Application Deadline: Friday, Nov. 17th.
2024 Experiences
Financial aid is available for students currently receiving tuition assistance. If cost is the only factor preventing participation in immersion, please contact the Office of Service and Justice to have a conversation. We want all interested, qualified students to be able to participate in this program.
The locations are as follows:
Sierra Service Project – Chiloquin, OR
SSP has been serving the Chiloquin community since 2013. Over 33% of the families in Chilogquin live below the poverty line. Members of the Klamath Tribs primarily live in this small town, 30 miles north of Klamath Falls. The type of work includes roofing, building ramps and porches, painting, and other general home repairs. Many projects take more than a week to complete, so you may see a project’s beginning, middle, or end. Approximate Cost: $1,100
Sierra Service Project – Del Norte County, CA
Students work with residents and organizations in the coastal towns of Smith River, Fort Dick, and Crescent City as well as, at times, inland in Hiouchi and Gasquet. Because Del Norte County’s poverty rate is more than 20 percent and is one of the poorest counties in the State, we work with the entire community, including some families who are tribal members. The majority of our work is locally led in partnership with community-based organizations, although some projects will focus on typical SSP home repairs. Volunteers will rotate through community-based projects, many of which have an environmental focus. Approximate cost: $1,100
L’Arche Tahoma Hope – Tacoma, WA
We will partner with the L’Arche Tahoma Hope Community, spending time working alongside core community members with intellectual disabilities on the community farm, learning about disability justice and socializing with the members of the community. Housing is provided on site. Approximate cost: $1,100
Sierra Service Project – Navajo Nation (Tsaile, AZ)
SSP has a long history of working with partners in the Navajo Nation. Since 1994, SSP has partnered with various Diné (pronounced din-EH, meaning “the people”) communities. Service will include: weatherization for harsh winters, including roof repairs, installing awnings, and building sheds to keep wood dry; accessibility repair projects for elder residents, including decks, stairs, and ramps. Approximate cost: $1,700
Kino Border Initiative – Nogales, AZ and Sonora, Mexico
This Jesuit apostolate works to provide humanitarian aid to recently deported migrants, advocate for policy change (in the U.S., Mexico, and beyond) that impacts migration, and educate about the complexities of immigration. Students provide service through meal service and accompaniment of migrants through conversation. Students also meet with ranchers, border patrol officers, and participants in the court system (attorneys, judges) for dialogue with people impacted by migration and for reflection on their experience and response. Approximate cost: $1,800
Jerusalem Farm – Kansas City, MO
We will be living simply and giving of our time and energy to help others primarily with home maintenance and repair so that they may have adequate shelter and avoid code violations. The Jerusalem Farm community, which provides our housing, is led by an alumnus of Jesuit High School. Approximate cost: $2,000
What is an Immersion?
Our service immersion program offers rising Juniors and Seniors an opportunity to put their faith into action in a particular way. The service experiences are about responding to the Gospel call to serve those in need, while questioning the reasons behind why people are in need. Service is a tool for creating spaces for kinship and solidarity. While each immersion has its own unique focus, they all encourage participants to live in solidarity with people experiencing acute needs like hunger, homelessness, physical or developmental disability, isolation due to old age or illness, or dislocation due to migration. Experiencing community, simplicity, justice, and prayer is central to the immersion experience.
Each immersion has goals which are modeled on tenets of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps program:
- Engaging in direct service with the people of the community that welcomes us;
- Living simply, while in community with fellow students and people of the host community;
- Reflecting on social justice and Catholic Social Teaching issues pertinent to the community we are visiting;
- Reflecting through prayer at the end of each day as a means of noticing where and how God was acting throughout the day, and, further, how God invites us to respond.