Entitled Faith, Tradition and Modernization in Central America, the trip includes visits to Mayan ruins and an examination of Catholic and Mayan spirituality in the ancient villages along Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
“The experience enables alumni and life-long learners to fulfill their interests in other cultures, forge deep bonds with other globally conscious adults and in-country experts, and have enriching, international educational experiences that connect them to people and places not available on a typical tour,” says Timothy H. Wadkins, PhD, director of the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE), who will lead the trip. “Most importantly, these trips illuminate and challenge the traveler’s own spiritual journey.”
The group will also travel to Guatemalan and Salvadoran civil war memorial sites where Catholic bishops, priests and peasants were martyred. They will visit Catholic cathedrals, Pentecostal mega-churches and congregations engaged in social service.
Participants will hear presentations from topical experts and enjoy a concert by a renowned Salvadoran folk singer. The trip also includes opportunities for hiking, shopping, golf and a coffee plantation tour.
Kate Scanlon ᾽99 learned, grew and reconnected with Jesuit ideals during last July’s excursion to Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
“Our group was a diverse mix of alumni and friends of the college,” says Scanlon. “We engaged in interfaith experiences and discussion, explored the role that education plays in a developing country and critically reflected on the place of Western influence in a traditional, non-Western culture. We were able to deeply explore what it really means to be men and women for others on a global platform, and what social justice work looks like through different perspectives.”
To learn more about the trip or the IGE, contact Dr. Wadkins at (716) 888-2824 or @email or click here.
