Campus Ministry takes their annual winter service immersion trip

By: Kaitlyn Belile, Features Editor and Hannah Wiley, Managing Editor

Over winter break, a group of Canisius students were given the opportunity to head down to El Paso, Texas and spend a week learning about immigration at the southern border. 

The group traveled with campus ministry and included Matthew Braden ’27, Robert Chan ’26, Andrew Crooks ’26, Saige Crainer ’27, Brianna Forzani ’27, Adam Golden ’26, Danait Mebrahtom ’26, Onyeka Osuji ’27, Madison Smith ’28 and Kayla Vandewater ’28. 

Andrew Crooks, a senior majoring in math and data science described the experience as, “very eye opening.” The group stayed at the Annunciation House, a volunteer organization which offers hospitality to migrants and refugees. “With the current administration we need to help immigrants know the rights they have in the United States, help them become comfortable in a new country and give them an opportunity that they previously did not have,” Crooks stated. 

Students expressed that they got experiences they couldn’t have received otherwise. Saige Crainer, a junior double majoring in math and education said that the trip was “an experience I could not have gotten anywhere else that I will carry with me for a lifetime. I also got exposure to multiple perspectives – some quite different from others – all significant in their own ways as they were shaped by these peoples’ experiences.” The group got to learn about the state of immigration in the United States and met people who “truly have exhausted every option that they have before coming to the United States,” Crooks stated. 

According to Caroline King, the assistant director of Campus Ministry, the Border Awareness Experience gives students the opportunity to “immerse participants in the lived realities of the U.S.-Mexico border region in order to deepen awareness of immigration, economic forces, human rights and social justice.” 

The group had the opportunity to speak with a husband and wife who live with the border in the backyard. “They shared differing views on many things, but we listened to them speak of their experience living where migrants would be in their backyard and damaging their things on nearly a daily basis,” Crainer said. They also had the chance to talk with migrants on their experiences coming to the United States and living at the Annunciation House. “We ate almost every meal with everyone living at the Annunciation House as well as cooked them dinner on our last night, and when we weren’t eating with them, we were trying local shops with authentic foods,” stated Crainer. 

A common border crossing location is Mount Cristo Rey, and the group had the opportunity to hike to the location and reflect on the challenges that come along with embarking on this hike. 

The group was able to learn a lot from the trip and was grateful for the experience. The information that they learned is valuable and something that they can take with them for a lifetime.