Adolescent Community Peace Trip

Personal Essays on an Unforgettable Journey

For ten days in November, the Adolescent Community traveled in big pink bus from Houston to Washington DC on a meticulously planned Peace Trip. The itinerary, which included stops in New Orleans, Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery in Alabama, Oak Ridge in Tennessee, and Roanoke in Virginia, represented the themes studied in the classroom humanities courses (international relations, social justice, and the environment) and was researched and planned by the students.

A "lost lands" kayak trip, a post-Katrina tour, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Civil Rights monuments, the International Friendship Bell, war memorials, the Newseum and the Iraqi Embassy in DC were just a few of the landmarks on the route.

Along the way, the students also learned to share tight spaces, unclog toilets, see disappearing wetlands firsthand, play integer bingo with Ms. Hijazi, confront movie history with reality, and experience hospitality from the most unexpected quarters.

As Olivia Novak says in her essay: “I felt as if we were piecing together the pieces of a puzzle – a puzzle that was hard to think about, but one that we learned so much from.” Read all the student essays here.

ESSAYS

Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) by Sophia Devereux	Fountainebleau State Park by Vittoria La Matta
The Warm and Hospitable Iraqi Embassy by Rory Gremillion	Miles of Motivation by Vittoria La Matta and Julia Yanosik
Newseum by Ruth Scherschel	Movies about the Civil Rights Movement by Julia Yanosik
A Town of Yesterday, A Town of Today (Selma, Alabama) by Olivia Novak	Hurricane Katrina Tour by Sarah Lopez
The Lost Lands Kayak Tour by Chris Flores	An Inspiration (National Museum of African American History) by Nico Thompson
Trials and Tribulations of Toilets on the Trip by Isabella Godfrey	The War Memorials of D.C. by Pablo Canizales
The Bus by Amelia Smith	Mary, Queen of Ireland (Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception) by Jacob Blackman

ITINERARY

Tuesday, November 8:

Depart from St. Catherine's at noon and arrive in New Orleans, Louisiana, at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, November 9:

Lost Lands Kayak Tour and Post-Katrina Tour

Thursday, November 10:

Drive to Montgomery, Alabama, and tour the Southern Poverty Law Center

Friday, November 11:

Drive to Selma, Alabama, visit some important Civil Rights landmarks, and drive to Birmingham around noon

Saturday, November 12:

Drive to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Explore the American Museum of Science and Energy and the International Friendship Bell. Drive to Kingsport, Tennessee.

Sunday, November 13:

Drive to Roanoke, Virginia and attend Mass at St. Andrew's Catholic Church. Drive to Washington, D.C.

Monday, November 14:

Trek to the Newseum and the National Mall

Tuesday, November 15:

View the new African-American Museum and visit the Holocaust Museum

Wednesday, November 16:

Visit the Iraqi Embassy and walk to several memorials

Thursday, November 17:

Depart D.C. at 3:55 p.m. Fly back to Houston