JAN 186 - Puerto Rico Se Levanta: Direct Hurricane Relief

In September 2022, Hurricane Fiona struck the island of Puerto Rico, though that population was still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Maria in 2017. A group of students from SMC joined post-Maria relief efforts in January of 2019, helping to rebuild parts of the island that had not yet received support or aid. 

This January, a new group of students will return to some of those communities and will add new sites to our work in direct hurricane relief, including mucking/clearing/gutting homes, restoring greenspaces and natural areas, and rebuilding wherever we can identify sites that are ready for that activity. Throughout our stay, we will document our experiences through journaling, photography, videography, and blogging. 

This course is considered a domestic travel course so it is open to all class levels (including first year students). We will hold informational meetings this week on Wednesday (11/2) and Thursday (11/3) evenings at 7pm by Zoom. Next week there will be an additional info meeting on Monday (11/7) at 7pm. Registration and full payment ($2550) will need to occur by next Friday, November 11, and our first preparatory retreat will be that weekend (11/12-13). 

If you are currently registered in a travel course for Jan Term, you may not switch to this course. If you are currently registered in an on-campus course, you may switch to this travel course. The course involves an application procedure that will be explained in the informational meetings, so if you are interested, be sure to attend a meeting or reach out directly to Professor Anderson.

 

Instructors: Shawny Anderson & Jesse Wheeler

Email: sanderso@stmarys-ca.edu.

Course Fee: $2250

Credits: 1