Blog: 2018 Houston Service Immersion Trip
May 29, 2018 | Devlin Student-Athlete Formation & Succe
14 BC Student-Athletes Embark on Houston to Help Rebuild
Details:
Location: Houston, Texas
- Ninth year of BC's Service Immersion Trip and first year visiting Houston, Texas.
- Working with SBP (formerly the St. Bernard Project), which was co-founded by BC alum Liz McCartney.
- BC student-athletes are on site to rebuild the home of Annie Sanders, whose home was damaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Participating Student-Athletes:
Catherine Balido, Volleyball
Jamie Bange, Rowing
Nolan Borgesen, Football
Katy Bryan, Women's Socer
Antonio Chavez Borrelli, Men's Soccer
Crystal Chen, Women's Fencing
Julie Dobson, Swimming
Sarah Dwyer, Field Hockey
Katherine Fraser, Rowing
Monica Heil, Women's Track & Field
Tyler Kertson, Men's Golf
Makenzie Morrison, Volleyball
Ceara Sweeney, Women's Fencing
Ya Ya Van Ness, Women's Soccer
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Blog Entry Day 7 - Friday, June 1
Today was our last day at Ms. Annie Sanders' home. The whole week was filled with tiling the rooms and the grand total came out to 330 tiles laid out. Everyone had an integral part in each tile placed in the home. This includes all the athletes, the chaperones Jen and Caitlin, and our placement leaders, Ash, Jalon, Kerby and Patty.Â
We're excited to bring back the experiences we've learned to Boston College, our hometowns, and into the future.Â
To put into perspective this trip, here are our phrases/sentences that we chose to describe this trip with:
"Everything happens for a reason." -Mo, Sarah
Blog Entry Day 6 - Thursday, May 31
Long day of tiling, beam hanging, mortar mixing, and a jam packed baseball game. It was super exciting to completely tile the living room because we got to see immediate results from our hard work, and we're excited to finish tiling Ms. Sander's home tomorrow. Our goal is to completely tile another room and to hopefully meet Ms. Sanders herself if she comes by the house to visit. As we approach our last work day, we plan to be mindful and work efficiently and effectively as this is our last opportunity to make an impact on the house. Together, we plan to feed off each other's contagious positive energy to get the job done. We're looking forward to completing our work, but sad to say goodbye to Houston and the SBP crew.
Katherine Fraser, Rowing
Blog Entry Day 5 - Wednesday, May 30
The second day in Ms Annie's house was even better than the first. With a shortened day of only four hours on site, we worked hard to finish tiling the entire living room. We not only churned out bucket after bucket of mortar, but we also learned how to cut tiles. It was electric!
The leaders continued to be both motivational and inspirational. We started the day with a group stretch. Jalon, a former collegiate football player, initiated a push-up contest between us to break up the work load. Jen amazingly surprised us with ice cream sandwiches and popsicles at the end of the 93-degree day. Caitlin led a beautiful reflection afterwards where everyone was able to hear about her own experience and share their thoughts about the day. We are making major #gains down here in Houston and are excited for our last couple of days!
Jamie Bang, Rowing
Blog Entry Day 4 - Tuesday, May 29
Today was our first day working on the house! When we first got there, we met all of the site leaders. It was really cool to hear each of their stories and how/why they got involved with SBP. After introductions, we got straight to work. Half of us worked on mixing and laying concrete for the floors in the house, while the other half got to work scraping at the floors to make sure they were level for the tiles to be put in. All of the site leaders were really helpful and really took the time to explain things when we didn't understand. After lunch, we began tiling. We had one group mixing mortar and another group laying the mortar and the tiles. It was really rewarding to see how scraping the floor actually helped when we would lay the tiles because the tiles would line up perfectly. Once we got a few tiles down we could really see the difference in our progress. The house was really starting to look like a home. We are really excited to get back to the worksite tomorrow and continue to work on the house and get some more work done!
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Blog Entry Day 3 - Monday, May 28
Today brought us to the Houston Space Center for our "free day". We took an hour-long tour through NASA's facilities and equipment, which was exciting and interesting. After, we had free time to walk around and explore, the Center was packed with intriguing exhibits.
Next, we went to the University of Houston to swim and play in the water in their outdoor pool and rec area. We played volleyball, went down the slide and talked (making new connections). After the pool, we went back to the hotel, showered quickly and headed to a Texas BBQ dinner, it was fantastic! Lastly, we made our way back to the hotel to talk and reflect on our day, it was our first day writing in our journals!! Overall, it was a great full first day in Houston!
Ya Ya Van Ness, Women's Soccer
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Blog Entry Day 2 - Sunday, May 27
Shortly after that, we got lunch in Newton and watched the BC women's lacrosse championship game. (GO EAGS!) After filling our tummies, we made our way to the airport. The flight took off around 5:30 and it was just shy of four hours long. We safely landed and had a very, very warm welcome from the Houston heat (85 degrees). We met up with three more of our group members who had traveled from local homes.Â
Next we all settled into our rooms and had a quick group meeting about tomorrow's agenda. We are going to the NASA space center in the morning. Since tomorrow is Memorial Day, we won't start working on the house until Tuesday. We are all looking forward to the experiences tomorrow and getting to know each other and the area better.
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Blog Entry Day 1 - Saturday, May 26
Location: Houston, Texas
- Ninth year of BC's Service Immersion Trip and first year visiting Houston, Texas.
- Working with SBP (formerly the St. Bernard Project), which was co-founded by BC alum Liz McCartney.
- BC student-athletes are on site to rebuild the home of Annie Sanders, whose home was damaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Participating Student-Athletes:
Catherine Balido, Volleyball
Jamie Bange, Rowing
Nolan Borgesen, Football
Katy Bryan, Women's Socer
Antonio Chavez Borrelli, Men's Soccer
Crystal Chen, Women's Fencing
Julie Dobson, Swimming
Sarah Dwyer, Field Hockey
Katherine Fraser, Rowing
Monica Heil, Women's Track & Field
Tyler Kertson, Men's Golf
Makenzie Morrison, Volleyball
Ceara Sweeney, Women's Fencing
Ya Ya Van Ness, Women's Soccer
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Blog Entry Day 7 - Friday, June 1
Today was our last day at Ms. Annie Sanders' home. The whole week was filled with tiling the rooms and the grand total came out to 330 tiles laid out. Everyone had an integral part in each tile placed in the home. This includes all the athletes, the chaperones Jen and Caitlin, and our placement leaders, Ash, Jalon, Kerby and Patty.Â
We're excited to bring back the experiences we've learned to Boston College, our hometowns, and into the future.Â
To put into perspective this trip, here are our phrases/sentences that we chose to describe this trip with:
"Everything happens for a reason." -Mo, Sarah
"Men and women with others." -Tyler, Jamie
"Create the environment you're in." -Crystal
""Ride the wave." -Kerby" -Julie
"Empowering." -Ceara
"Eye-opening and unforgettable." -Yaya
"If you do what you love, it doesn't feel like work." -Cat
"Do what you love." -Kenzie
"Don't forget the little things." -Nolan
Shoutout to Katherine and Antonio who had to leave early. We miss you already!
-Crystal Chen and Ceara Sweeney, Fencing
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Shoutout to Katherine and Antonio who had to leave early. We miss you already!
-Crystal Chen and Ceara Sweeney, Fencing
Blog Entry Day 6 - Thursday, May 31
Long day of tiling, beam hanging, mortar mixing, and a jam packed baseball game. It was super exciting to completely tile the living room because we got to see immediate results from our hard work, and we're excited to finish tiling Ms. Sander's home tomorrow. Our goal is to completely tile another room and to hopefully meet Ms. Sanders herself if she comes by the house to visit. As we approach our last work day, we plan to be mindful and work efficiently and effectively as this is our last opportunity to make an impact on the house. Together, we plan to feed off each other's contagious positive energy to get the job done. We're looking forward to completing our work, but sad to say goodbye to Houston and the SBP crew.
Katherine Fraser, Rowing
Antonio Chavez Borrelli, Soccer Â
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Blog Entry Day 5 - Wednesday, May 30
The second day in Ms Annie's house was even better than the first. With a shortened day of only four hours on site, we worked hard to finish tiling the entire living room. We not only churned out bucket after bucket of mortar, but we also learned how to cut tiles. It was electric!
The leaders continued to be both motivational and inspirational. We started the day with a group stretch. Jalon, a former collegiate football player, initiated a push-up contest between us to break up the work load. Jen amazingly surprised us with ice cream sandwiches and popsicles at the end of the 93-degree day. Caitlin led a beautiful reflection afterwards where everyone was able to hear about her own experience and share their thoughts about the day. We are making major #gains down here in Houston and are excited for our last couple of days!
Jamie Bang, Rowing
Julie Dobson, Swimming & Diving
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Blog Entry Day 4 - Tuesday, May 29
Today was our first day working on the house! When we first got there, we met all of the site leaders. It was really cool to hear each of their stories and how/why they got involved with SBP. After introductions, we got straight to work. Half of us worked on mixing and laying concrete for the floors in the house, while the other half got to work scraping at the floors to make sure they were level for the tiles to be put in. All of the site leaders were really helpful and really took the time to explain things when we didn't understand. After lunch, we began tiling. We had one group mixing mortar and another group laying the mortar and the tiles. It was really rewarding to see how scraping the floor actually helped when we would lay the tiles because the tiles would line up perfectly. Once we got a few tiles down we could really see the difference in our progress. The house was really starting to look like a home. We are really excited to get back to the worksite tomorrow and continue to work on the house and get some more work done!
Â
Makenzie Morrison, Volleyball
Cat Balido, Volleyball
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Blog Entry Day 3 - Monday, May 28
Today brought us to the Houston Space Center for our "free day". We took an hour-long tour through NASA's facilities and equipment, which was exciting and interesting. After, we had free time to walk around and explore, the Center was packed with intriguing exhibits.
Next, we went to the University of Houston to swim and play in the water in their outdoor pool and rec area. We played volleyball, went down the slide and talked (making new connections). After the pool, we went back to the hotel, showered quickly and headed to a Texas BBQ dinner, it was fantastic! Lastly, we made our way back to the hotel to talk and reflect on our day, it was our first day writing in our journals!! Overall, it was a great full first day in Houston!
Ya Ya Van Ness, Women's Soccer
Mo Heil, Women's Track & Field
Blog Entry Day 2 - Sunday, May 27
Prior to our travels to Houston this afternoon, we did a group activity in Boston. It was kept a surprise until we got to the place- The Puzzle Break! This was an escape room-type of activity where the group was forced to work together and solve a series of clues and riddles to "escape" a room.Â
We were given a one-hour time limit to figure out how to get out. We succeeded and got the final key with only 30 seconds to spare! Each member of the team contributed something different and valuable to our success. It was a great time to bond and a great way to start the week.
We were given a one-hour time limit to figure out how to get out. We succeeded and got the final key with only 30 seconds to spare! Each member of the team contributed something different and valuable to our success. It was a great time to bond and a great way to start the week.
Shortly after that, we got lunch in Newton and watched the BC women's lacrosse championship game. (GO EAGS!) After filling our tummies, we made our way to the airport. The flight took off around 5:30 and it was just shy of four hours long. We safely landed and had a very, very warm welcome from the Houston heat (85 degrees). We met up with three more of our group members who had traveled from local homes.Â
Next we all settled into our rooms and had a quick group meeting about tomorrow's agenda. We are going to the NASA space center in the morning. Since tomorrow is Memorial Day, we won't start working on the house until Tuesday. We are all looking forward to the experiences tomorrow and getting to know each other and the area better.
Sarah Dwyer, Field Hockey
Katy Bryan, Women's Soccer
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Tonight is the official start of our service trip. We had a nice dinner and some conversations as we begin to get to know one another. We are extremely excited for this opportunity and are optimistic we will gain a lot from this trip. At dinner, we talked about what "service for and with others" meant and how important service can be in peoples' lives.Â
A few of us have been on a service trip similar to this before, but it is the first time for most of us. That being said, everyone is going in with an open mind and prepared to have a great trip.  Tomorrow we will all be watching together as our fellow Eagles on the women's lacrosse team compete for a national championship. We will then fly to Houston in the evening and rest up for the week. We are excited to help a woman rebuild her home, which was heavily damaged in Hurricane Harvey, and our group is determined to make this trip one we will remember for the rest of our lives.
Tyler Keterson, Men's Golf
A few of us have been on a service trip similar to this before, but it is the first time for most of us. That being said, everyone is going in with an open mind and prepared to have a great trip.  Tomorrow we will all be watching together as our fellow Eagles on the women's lacrosse team compete for a national championship. We will then fly to Houston in the evening and rest up for the week. We are excited to help a woman rebuild her home, which was heavily damaged in Hurricane Harvey, and our group is determined to make this trip one we will remember for the rest of our lives.
Tyler Keterson, Men's Golf
Nolan Borgersen, Football
Players Mentioned
RS
/ Volleyball
/ Rowing
DB
/ Football
GK
/ Men's Soccer
Sabre
/ Fencing
Free/Fly
/ Swimming
GK
/ Field Hockey
/ Rowing
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Men's Golf
DS
/ Volleyball
Epee
/ Fencing
F
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