Just three days after final exams are complete and one day after seniors walk at graduation, approximately 70 Waynesburg University students will be starting their
summer breaks by going on one of four service trips offered by the university.

Two of the service trips will be held in the United States, with the other two being held internationally.

Twenty-two members of the Lamplighters Touring Choir will travel to Nashville, Tennessee.

Eleven students, a majority of which are science majors, will go to Wheeling, West Virginia, to serve the Laughlin Chapel’s after school program, as well as the Wheeling Park High School.

The touring choir will perform at several different non-profit organizations, as well as working at service sites on their annual end-of-year trip.

The other two opportunities to go abroad will include 12 students travelling to Puerto Rico, and 24 more going to Patzun, Guatemala.

According to Kelly Hardie, assistant dean of student services, one of the “challenges” to consider for seniors going on the trip is that, because they start almost immediately after graduation, they will no longer be Waynesburg University students by the time they begin.

“We do ask that if [graduating seniors] want to participate in a service trip, that they use it as their service learning course,” Hardie said. “Because they’ll need to fulfill that service trip as part of their class.”

Michelle Keith, junior education major, will be one of the students going on the Guatemala trip, returning for the second year in a row.

For Keith—whose goal is to teach after graduation—the trip is an ideal fit, with the project taking place at a children’s center.

Keith said that what she loves most about the opportunity is the bonds that are built between Waynesburg students and the communities that they are visiting.

“My favorite thing about Guatemala is that it’s all about building relationships with the people there and building community,” Keith said. “I love people, and because it is a trip that happens year after year, the past trip members that have gone back several years in a row, they build relationships with the kids there.”

According to Hardie, the Puerto Rico trip wasn’t offered last year. Since it was last available in 2016, the country has been devastated by Hurricane Irma. Due to the disaster, Hardie said that this year’s trip will be “completely different” than it was two years ago.

“We will be traveling to Puerto Rico serving at a Christian camp for youth,” she said. “In the past, our students served as camp counselors and facilitated those types of games and activities. This year, we will be doing a lot of hurricane relief work for the camp.”

For Hardie, the fact that students are willing to serve when they could be resting off the end of the school year shows their commitment to helping others.

“I think that speaks volumes to our students that want to volunteer on these service trips,” Hardie said. “I think that speaks volumes to any of our breaks because you can say that for winter break, spring break and fall break. Students give up time where they can rest and relax to help others and to really challenge themselves to learn more about service and dive deeper into their faith.”

Before Keith went on the Guatemala trip last year, she had never flown on an airplane. After experiencing a service trip for the first time, Keith’s advice to students that are new to service trips is to go in “with an open mind and an open heart.”

“I think a lot of times people go into trips thinking ‘I’m going to change people’s lives,’” Keith said. “…When really, they impact you probably just as much or more than we impact them. They just show us finding joy in the simple things of life.”