Welcome Home Dominican Experience!

On Tuesday I took a tour of the Dominican Experience students display in the student commons. It looks like they all enjoyed themselves completely! I had a great time talking to the students about their trip, the people they met, and the things they learned. All of the students I talked to had a great time and said that the trip really changed their perspective on life. it was funny to see that they were almost just as excited to hang out with each other as they were to share their experience.

"I thought I was going to change the kids but they changed me. I learned to be happy with what I have because they are happy and they have a lot less then I do," says Jordon MacLean a Dominican Experience participant.

The students were working in a Dominican school teaching English, health, art, and physical activity to various groups of local children. School runs for half the day, so around noon our students would received a new batch of kids. They were each responsible for running differently themed stations to focus on different skills with the children. Some students were group leaders, and ushered groups of children from station to station.

One of the students bought a Dominican flag from the market and had all the other students on the trip sign it and write messages. He had the flag on display in the student commons. It was really cool to read the comments and it's such a great idea for a unique souvenir for a life changing trip! I may have to borrow that idea if I ever get to go on a trip like this. There were great displays that really showed how much fun they had and how they have come together as a group

I know when they first left they were very nervous, excited, and anxious. It was great to see that they had fun and that this experience is something they will carry forward in their lives. Some of them were talking about doing it again next year, and all of them have caught the travel bug.

From talking to them and see what they brought back it's obvious that this was a huge part of their college experience and they highly recommend this for other students.

To hear more about their experiences check out the Dominican Experience blog!

- SAO blogger Sarah Raphael