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
by Sophia Devereux
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by Vittoria La Matta
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by Rory Gremillion
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by Vittoria La Matta and Julia Yanosik
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by Ruth Scherschel
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by Julia Yanosik
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by Olivia Novak
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by Sarah Lopez
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by Chris Flores
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by Nico Thompson
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by Isabella Godfrey
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by Pablo Canizales
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by Amelia Smith
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by Jacob Blackman
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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