Mission Possible Alternative Spring Break
This March 125 Gonzaga Students took part in Gonzaga’s largest and longest running alternative spring break service program hosted by the Center for Community Action and Service Learning, Mission Possible. Although students have been visiting the same communities for more than a decade they will be the first to tell you that no two Mission Possible trips are the same, even if they are to the same location as the year before. I would have to guess this is because the students and staff advisors that make up the ingredients change every year, and those personalities really make a difference.
One thing that doesn’t change about this tradition are the four pillars students live by throughout the week. In 1999 when students helped the CCASL staff envision Mission Possible they suggested borrowing the four pillars of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Thirteen years later the themes of simplicity, spirituality, community and social justice are still serving the program well. The student groups are usually kept to a reasonable size of 12 to 16 students to help foster a tight group dynamic necessary for deep dialogue.
It is surprising that this program has been able to grow from two initial sites in Mississippi and Louisiana to the ten we visit today given that the sign up process happens in early October and requires students to have their day planners and iPhone calendars open to plan activities sixmonths away in the following March. Maybe the current electronic sign up process that happens the first week of October is to blame for the low number of male students applying. The Center for Community Action and Service Learning is always experimenting with new ways to attract our male students to sign up for Mission Possible. Although Gonzaga University does not have a Greek Life system, the sign up process for this program is possibly the closest thing to a rush we have. Usually the online sign up on the CCASL website is full and only taking names for the wait list in three or four hours.
Some participants could argue that there is no such thing as a typical day on Mission Possible due to the nature of the work with homeless people, children in afterschool programs, and tribal communities but there really is a recipe for the student leaders to follow that always returns great results. After at least an eight hour day of serving and engaging with the local community members and non-profit partners students usually retreat to the church or dormitory where they sleep to reflect on their activities and find new meaning in what theyhave done during the day. This is where the four pillars of the program really shine and allow Gonzaga students to connect their heart with their mind or sometimes connect their daily experience to their classroom knowledge and spiritual journey. Having been an advisor for these service immersions for the last 7 years it is always tempting to speak up more than necessary, but I have come to find that my silence allows students more of an opportunity to make their own connections and I am continually amazed by the transformation that is possible during a seven day service trip.
Mission Possible is not the perfect program for every student, due to the long hours and challenging journey spiritually and emotionally. I am convinced that for the students who do take part in this CCASL program they gain a speedy awareness to social justice and enjoy new levels of self-awareness and self-acceptance. One concrete way that I know Mission Possible is working is because every year I find myself completing a stack of letters of recommendation helping students from past trips apply themselves for challenging and rewarding opportunities after graduation. Sometimes the students are attempting to live by the four pillars for 52 weeks instead of one week by committing to a JVC community for an entire year.