SMWC Students in New YorkWritten by Jena Thralls, SMWC Journalism Student

What is your ideal college spring break? For some it may be spending the week on a hot beach and simply doing nothing but relaxing. For others it may include working for pay or catching up on work in general.  Not every college student might prefer to spend an entire week serving the community for no pay. During spring break seventeen Saint Mary- of-the Woods College students traveled to New York City where they worked in a soup kitchen to serve the homeless.

                  The severe weather conditions in NYC swarmed the news only days before the group was bound to leave for the trip. Jeff Malloy, Campus Life Director and chaperone of the trip, said that he had been following the weather very closely. “I decided that we were going to get there no matter what. If it got to the point where we were uncomfortable driving we would stop off and stay somewhere.”  To everyone’s surprise, the weather wasn’t too bad. Though there was some snow on the way there, the group was fortunate enough to have just missed the severe storm.  Students said that when they arrived to NYC they were surprised to see how clear all of the roads actually were. “The weather was actually really nice,” Malloy said. The students and chaperones all arrived safely and on time, late Saturday night.

                  All seventeen students slept in a church chapel on floor mats.  All students attended mass on the morning following their arrival.  They were to share one shower for the entire week. Kathleen Flynn, SMWC freshman, said, “I think living like that for a week made us a lot more conscious of everyone around us.” To many it may seem rough to have to share one shower between seventeen girls and sleep on the floor in a sanctuary, but SMWC students said they were lucky. “After serving the homeless and seeing how they live, I think we all realized how lucky we were,” Flynn said.  The Trinity Lutheran Lower Eastside Parish was located by Thompson Square Park on the lower east side of Manhattan. 

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