This month we had the pleasure of hosting two welcome immersions: Rollins College and Catholic University. 

On March 3, students from Rollins started working with FWAF at the community garden behind HCC south. After their morning service, they joined the Service-learning Program to learn about the Root Causes of Migration, topics such as Climate, U.S. Intervention, and capitalism were all covered. In addition, we had two community members come and share their stories with the students; they opened up about the difficulties of being an undocumented student living in the U.S…   

In the same week, Catholic University came to Apopka! We welcomed 12 participants for a 7-day Immersion. The students learned about HCC history and programs, immigration, farmworkers, and root causes of immigration, among many other workshops.  

The students started their immersion by attending mass at St. Francis of Assisi; they were able to see members of the community as well as meet Fr. Robinson! After assembly, they met with us at HCC North and learned about the symbols grounded in Hope’s mission.  

This was a great introduction to the Apopka Tour that Sr. Ann facilitated; they met amazing people like Linda Lee, who shared her story as a farmworker in Apopka.  

The students participated at Green Masters Nursery and the FWAF garden throughout the week. They also actively provided service with many of our programs here at Hope, such as Tutoring with Academic Support, Youth Group, and Mujeres Empoderadas that Youth and Families lead. 

We also had amazing facilitators and storytellers like Andrea Montanez (Advocacy), Ivis Greenwall (Academic Support), Silvia Ruiz (Rental Assistance), Angie Moreno (NDA), Italia Rico (Qlatinx), Eli Garcia (Vote Riders), Jeannie Economos (FWAF). 

Upcoming Events: Gonzaga @ HCC 4/3/22-4/9/22 

Service Learning wants to shout out to all the staff who participated and shared with the students! We are grateful for all of you who participated; keep up the amazing work!