The College of Arts and Sciences will host a Servant Leadership Experience to Kingston, Jamaica, for the duration of Seton Hall’s winter break. Selected students will be given the opportunity to work at the Alpha Boys School from Jan. 2 to 11, where they will help rebuild the facility, develop evening social activities and teach young students the essentials of reading, writing and arithmetic.
According to Christopher Kaiser, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, approximately 10 to 12 students are sent to Jamaica each year. Students are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to demonstrate leadership and service values.
“All students are called to lead; in their career, family, community, among their peers, colleagues and friends,” Kaiser said. “The Servant Leadership Experience’s vision is to awaken servant leadership in each student. This is another great opportunity to put leadership in action through service.”
Daniela Mallia, a senior, said her trip to Jamaica was an emotional experience.
“To this day, I always think about how (the students) are doing,” Mallia wrote in a recap of her experience in Jamaica. “I believe that every student should have the opportunity to attend a Servant Leadership Program. Not only do you get to help others and make a difference around the world, but the experience changes you. Your values change as you grow from this learning experience, and it helps you make decisions focusing on your own future.”
“When I went to (The Alpha Boys School) I felt so happy and it was because I found my happiness in helping others,” graduate student Heather Robinson wrote in her own recap. “The trip to Alpha Boys School had an indescribably immense impact on my life.”
Interested students for this year’s trip are encouraged to fill out an application before the Oct. 15 deadline. Applications are located in Room 130 of Fahy Hall from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. The estimated cost of the trip is $2,500 and is subject to change.
“Going on the trip is one of the greatest things I’ve done, not only at Seton Hall, but in my entire life,” senior Jenna Romaine said. “As a service trip you’d expect you would be there making a change in (the Alpha students’) lives, but I feel like the boys at Alpha have changed mine much more than I changed theirs. I miss them every day, and I still write letters to some. I’ve been itching to go back to Alpha and be with them again since I left. It’s an experience few people are lucky enough to have.”
Erica Szczepaniak can be reached at erica.szczepaniak@student.shu.edu.
