StudentschooseProjectAppalachiaoverCancun

KATHERINE BRACHELLI ASST. NEWS EDITOR KB727@CABRINI.EDU

While some students will be tanning in Cancun over spring break, 18 dedicated Cabrini students will be donating their time to Cabrini's service immersion Project Appalachia, in Richwood, W.Va.

Feb. 26 through March 3, students will participate in educational, cultural and service activities. They will be doing manual labor such as building a home or painting, repairi_ngand demolishing structures. Students will be informed as to why Richwood is impoverished and what can be done to help and improve the living conditions there.

Jacquelyn Flick, a senior elementary education major and participant in this year's service immersion, said, "I always wanted to do it, but I kept on making excuses and now I am a senior. I wasn't going to let the chance pass me by before graduation."

Students will be exposed to life in the town of Richwood with lectures by local residents and the mayor. The students will also have the opportunity to taste the local food, participate in local activities like bingo, hiking, roller-skating and interact with community members.

The students and community members will be working together in projects enhancing the special partnership. In the Cabrinian tradition, students are challenged to transform through the experience and bring it home with them as advocates for social change and work for a more just society.

Laura Gorgo!, campus minis- ter, said, "The trip is very rewarding for both students and the town of Richwood. When students return they realize that service is simply not enough, they must change themselves in order to change social structures."

Gorgo! had also said that Project Appalachia is a valued tradition at Cabrini, and it is a favorite of alumni as well as current students. Many students express that it is their favorite activity that they participate in at Cabrini.

Flick said, "I expect the trip to be emotional and eye opening, but an unforgettable experience of a lifetime."

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