In the beginning of my senior year I applied for the Jamaica mission trip for the spring of 2016.

Luckily, I was accepted and had the amazing opportunity to do service work with a group of 11 other seniors. Thanks to a terrible virus that soon infected Jamaica and most of South America we had to reschedule our trip and lost a few members along the way. Finally with the hard work of our chaperones our trip was back on [and now headed for Colorado] and we had gained two new amazing volunteers.

Through the six days we spent in Pikes Peak, Colorado, we worked together helping those in need and helping each other build friendships to last a lifetime. Habitat for Humanity invited us to work with them to help build homes for families that were desperately in need. Due to weather conditions we were only able to work at the site for one day, but in that one day we had the opportunity to meet some amazing individuals who volunteer their time every week. These “regulars” that taught us how to frame out houses and build walls. They also taught us lessons on selflessness and integrity.

Our team also spent two days helping restore a trail at America's number one park, The Garden of the Gods. We spent two days with park supervisors building timber stairs into the side of a hill. Tons of people passed through our work site offering kind words and thanks for our hard work. Knowing that the trail we helped build will be used by thousands for years to come is an amazing feeling. This mission trip has brought me closer with my team and has given me memories that I will cherish forever. I know that this trip was about giving to others, but I gained so much more than I could've ever asked for.

Colorado Mission Trip Members:

Seniors

Tim Adent

Grace Burke

Tricia Cody

Derek Ivkovic

Cassidy McNulty 

Val Minnick

Carolan O’Connell

Tom O’Sullivan

Kelsey Ryan

Maura Smith

Justin Tringl

Zach Wegner

 

Chaperones

Aisha Khan

Patrick Meyer

Sarah Rakauskas