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1. How many Arrupe programs are there? 6. What is the "application process"? |
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1. How many Arrupe trip are there? For the 2009-10 academic school year, there will be nine or ten Arrupe “programs”: eight with trips during winter break, and two with trips during the summer. (An Arrupe “program” includes the trip as well as all of the preparation that happens before the trip, and all of the follow up that happens after the trip.)
For winter 2009-10 programs, ideally teams are selected by the end of April 2009; and for 2010 summer trips, ideally teams are selected by January or February 2010. Possible winter trip destinations: Belize, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, the U.S. and Mexico border (Agua Prieta and Nogales), to Puebla, Mexico, and to Peru. Possible summer trip destinations: Cuernavaca, Mexico and Jamaica. (Please see each program’s Program Description.)
2. What is the difference between education-immersion trips, service-immersion trips, and community-immersion trips? Arrupe programs offer students the opportunity to spend somewhere between one to two weeks immersed in the lives of our brothers and sisters in different parts of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Many of the people who we visit live lives of economic, political, social, and religious marginalization. We spend time accompanying them through faith-based 1) education-immersion trips (conferences/meetings with educators, politicians, and NGO representatives, families/community members; home stays, etc.), 2) service-immersion trips (camps, work projects (such as house building), site visits, elderly and prison ministry), and 3) community-immersion trips (staying in one location and meeting and getting to know people involved in this specific community). We do this to learn in different ways about the reality of people’s lives, to bear witness to their struggles and joys, and to contribute to their lives either through our attentive hearts or our working hands.
While each trip is unique in its own way, there are 13 to 16 people on each trip, including 9 to 12 participants, 2 student leaders, and typically 2 staff leaders.
The cost of each program is paid for entirely through participants’ collective fundraising efforts. We ask each student to submit a $100 initial fee as their own contribution, and to commit to raising $1,200 through a letter campaign and through other individual initiatives. Additionally, students participate in the point drive and several team-driven initiatives. These funds collectively cover all of the costs of a particular program, including food, lodging, airfare and other modes of transportation, travel medical insurance, and in-country host organization programming fees, as well as pre- and post-trip retreats and some administrative expenses. If you are concerned about the cost of participating in an Arrupe program, please contact the Arrupe director to discuss your situation. No one will be turned away from participation in an Arrupe program solely because the overall cost seems prohibitive.
Undergraduate students who are interested in an Arrupe program need to attend one of a number of information sessions for each cycle of trips (i.e. the winter and summer cycles), and then apply for a program via an on-line application process connected to the Campus Ministry web-site.
Information sessions for winter 2009-10 programs happen in March 2009, right after spring break. Information sessions for summer 2010 programs happen in November/December 2009.
6. What is the “application process”? Applications for Arrupe programs are made available on the Campus Ministry web site during the time when information sessions are happening. Applicants are asked to complete an application by a certain due date. They are asked to provide basic contact information and answer a number of essay questions. Depending on the number of applications received, applicants may or may not be asked to interview for a particular program. We encourage anyone interested in applying to discern whether you really want to participate in an Arrupe program, given its mission and vision. Note: Applicants may not be considered for the programs they identified as their top preferences.
Arrupe programs tend to be popular and historically we have not always been able to accommodate all applicants. If you are not selected for a particular program, please consider applying again, if possible. Whether or not you are selected for a trip does not reflect on your value or worth as a person! We encourage anyone to re-apply and we commit to doing our best to accommodate, given the nature of the program. (Please see Selection Criteria.)
8. Do I need to speak another language? While an understanding of Spanish is useful on several of the trips, it is not necessary. An interpreter accompanies delegations that travel to Spanish-speaking countries.
Winter break trips tend to be approximately seven, eight or nine days long; summer trips tend to be about two weeks long.
We do everything in our power to ensure that the programs are as healthy and safe as possible for everyone involved. We endeavor to work with people and organizations in each country that are well established and well respected, and we work closely with our in-country partners. That said, we are traveling outside of the United States and there is always a health and safety risk involved with such travel. All potential applicants need to be aware of this risk. We recommend that participants seriously consider receiving the immunizations recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Boston College health services, and seriously consider the U.S. State Department’s web site regarding its assessment of a particular country’s health and safety situation.
11. Do I need to be Catholic to participate? These programs are open to people of all faiths, traditions, and beliefs. That said, they are faith-based and the framework used throughout the experience is influenced by Catholicism. Regardless of one’s faith, tradition, or beliefs, participants are expected to explore and share their own faith and life journey within a small community context. Prayer and reflection are integral to the experience; everyone will be expected to participate and contribute, and to do so with honesty, openness, and respect. |