SAN JUAN PUERTO RICO
On Monday, April 18, a group of 14 Calvert Eighth Graders departed the mainland U.S. for a weeklong immersive experience in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they participated in service opportunities, outdoor learning, and cultural lessons aimed at fostering global thinking. Led by ILP Director Sarah DeCamps, Director of Global Outreach Sandry Sachar, and Middle School math teacher Skip Howe ’77, the trip was structured around several days of service projects with The World Leadership School and APRODEC, a non-profit organization based in Eastern Puerto Rico. “Learning about different cultures and immersing yourself in different experiences is really great to grow and learn and see a bit more of the world from somebody else’s perspective,” Allie Keffer ’22 said. “I thought it was really amazing to get to know Puerto Rico on this level through APRODEC, the service we did, and the opportunities we got to experience.” APRODEC, or the Alliance for Economic Development of Ceiba, works to promote the sustainable development of nearby communities to improve citizens’ quality of life after hundreds of years of cultural change, social upheaval, and natural disasters in Puerto Rico. Students contributed by helping to convert a former U.S. Navy base into an eco-tourism center and by cleaning dirt and dust out of a 150,000-gallon cistern to bolster APRODEC’s access to sufficient water. As part of this process, the students organized the facility’s tool shed, carried beds and bedding between different floors, tended to a community garden, and descended into the cistern, where they swept dust and grime into large buckets to hoist them out of the underground container. Tired after long days of work, the students returned to their bunks at Camp Yuquibo each night and witnessed the area’s need for clean water for Ryan Peel ’22 dodges Bobby Cheswick '22 during a Calvert Sports League football game this past fall. 30
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