UIW’s Ettling Center Leads Student Mission Trip to the Rio Grande Valley

In July, UIW’s Ettling Center for Civic Leadership and Sustainability (ECCLS) led ten student-volunteers to the Rio Grande Valley to aid in teaching lessons in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) to children in the region.

This project was a collaboration with ARISE Adelante, a nonprofit organization that empowers and supports immigrants in low-income communities in South Texas in their journey of creating a better life for themselves and their loved ones. UIW students and faculty first joined the ARISE efforts in 2015 and have consistently returned to help and support them in their efforts to support those in need.

Teofilo Reyes Jr., assistant director of Leadership and Global Engagement in the ECCLS, has led these student-involved mission trips every summer and winter. The ECCLS supported students by providing resources such as transportation, housing and food so that students could focus on immersing themselves within their experiences.

“In a matter of seven to ten days, you see a transformation in these students,” shared Reyes Jr. “Each group learns a lot and cherishes the experiences. In fact, this year we had three students that participated in last year’s trip come back and we had one student join us that has been four times.”

For most of their trip, UIW students greeted and taught an average of 40 eager young learners in an outside learning area. Despite challenges including harsh South Texas temperatures, language barriers and class management, the students adapted, providing the best learning experiences possible. They led activities such as building spaghetti noodle castles, creating popsicle catapults, weight gravity testing, planting seeds, and more.

“We have all kinds of majors that join us: biology, music, nursing, business, athletic training, etc.,” noted Reyes Jr. “Some students are nervous about teaching because they’re not education majors, but faculty and I created the trip’s curriculum to make sure that anyone is capable of executing it despite their backgrounds.”

In addition to leading educational lessons, UIW students also participated in other activities that encouraged them to expand their perspectives on social issues such as immigration.

They engaged in various activities including learning about the various challenges experienced by those in the ARISE community, sharing a traditional meal with a local host family, aiding the Catholic Charities RGV Humanitarian Respite Center, attended a local bilingual mass and visiting the Mexican border wall.

“It's important to remember that people come from different backgrounds and have different cultures, but you can't look at them differently because deep down we are all the same. We're all born innocent, beautiful and kind and everybody deserves to have the same opportunities,” reflected one of this year’s participating students.

By the end of the trip, Reyes Jr. expressed that he hopes this trip has been more than just an opportunity to offer a STEAM curriculum to kids. Beyond that, he hopes that it was an experience to discover more about oneself and our global community.

“I hope that students come back and don’t put a pause on their growth, but rather bring it back with them so they can continue to grow and apply it wherever they go,” said Reyes Jr.