Over Spring Break, three staff members and eight students traveled to San Diego, California's borderlands region through the immersion program Via International, which the University has partnered with since 2017.
Among the staff members in attendance were Rev. Garrett Ahlers, n.S.J., who has spent this past year at the University as Fairfield Bellarmine’s student success program coordinator and as a spiritual director at the Murphy Center; Julia Murphy, a campus minister for justice and immersions; and Sonya Alexander, associate director of living and learning community partnerships through the Office of Residence Life.
According to Murphy, ÂúÃÃÊÓƵ Ministry’s Spring Break immersion trips aim “to introduce students to realities of poverty and injustice in different regions of the United States with a posture of solidarity and accompaniment.” Embodying the roots of Catholic Social Teaching and Ignatian Spirituality, the group joined together to build community, reflect, and learn about the borderland region’s culture and injustices.
The first two days of the trip were spent in the historic Barrio Logan, where students participated in a mural restoration project at the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park. Putting their artistic skills to the test, they painted over cracked and faded areas of the mural, bringing the art back to life with fluorescent colors.
In addition to enjoying the ocean views and traditional Mexican fare of Barrio Logan, students met with Chicano community leaders to learn about indigenous heritage and pride and the justice issues the community faces. Youth leaders — who were the same age as the students — shared stories about their activism in the community. “They promoted self-determination: if you notice a need in your community, don’t wait for someone else to meet it; you need to step up and meet it yourself,” said Murphy.
Students also volunteered at a local elementary school to install a community garden, attended a lecture about the border presented by University of San Diego Professor Alberto Pulido, PhD, and engaged in a poetry and activism workshop. Held in a yurt at Mother Sanctuary Gardens, the workshop involved, “self-reflection and gaining an appreciation for the different purposes of plants and nature,” shared Paige Fulton ’26, a junior nursing major and student immersion trip leader.
While visiting the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) Post #7420, students met with Unified U.S. Deported Veterans, an organization that advocates for and assists U.S. veterans who face deportation. Murphy described this visit as one of the group's "most impactful" experiences on the trip. During a post-trip reflection meeting, almost every group member shared that they had kept the veterans' stories close to their hearts and passed on their stories to family and friends.
Additionally, the group visited the border at the San Ysidro port of entry and learned about Border Church, an ecumenical Christian community that meets on both sides of the border, gathering communities together in communion. The group listened to personal stories about migration and the vibrancy of the bi-national community. Leaving preconceptions behind, Murphy shared, the group recognized the richness of the region’s culture and gained a deep understanding of the “tight-knit communities of people who lead meaningful lives on both sides of the border.”
At the beginning of the trip, sophomore Aydee Cruz Mejia ’28, a first-generation American studying politics and international studies, was unsure if the group would “break the ice.” However, as the days progressed, she described the students as “vulnerable with each other” and said that they grew “to see each other differently than what we usually see when we are on campus.”
