Q&A: Dobson Recalls Service Trip

The ninth year of Boston College's Service Immersion Trip through Student-Athlete Development saw 14 Eagles head to Houston last month to help rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which devastated the area late last August. Working with SBP, which was co-founded by BC grad Liz McCartney, the student-athletes were on site to rebuild the home of Houston resident Annie Sanders, whose home was severely damaged by the storm.

Rising senior Julie Dobson, of the BC swimming team, recounted the trip in a Q&A with BCEagles.com.

What motivated you to get involved in the service trip?
When I read about Hurricane Harvey destroying homes, I thought about how devastating that would be for young people in that situation. It made me think about how important my "homes" have been to me. Not just the infrastructure of their house and their safety was compromised, but their space to spend time with family, learn how to love others, and grow healthily was taken away. As a rising senior, I realized I started calling BC my "home" after just my freshmen year. It was where my teammates became like family, and we were all together at BC. At my actual home in Philly, my parents taught me valuable lessons that led me to be accepted into BC and make such authentic relationships. BC campus helped me to grow not only physically and intellectually with sports and school, but also socially and emotionally into a mature girl. I knew I wanted to get involved so I could give victims of Harvey the same "home" environments I have been so lucky to experience growing up and at BC.

How did the group of athletes from different sports mix together at the beginning and again by the end?
Day one, I was a little hesitant being the only swimmer on the trip, but after we completed the "escape room" bonding activity with only 30 seconds left, I knew we were all one in the same: competitive, determined, and there to back each other up. It showed through our work at the site as well when no one would leave at the end of the day until they finished- even if it meant we all stayed an extra hour to help someone lay their last tile and complete a room.

What is your most impactful memory from the trip?
My most impactful memory from the trip was our third day there when we began tiling the front hall. It was 30 minutes before our session ended for the day, everyone was exhausted and we were sweating through our Under-Armour t-shirts in the 94-degree heat when one of the SBP leaders jokingly said, "So, you guys want to stay an extra hour until this room is finished?". Without hesitation, Tyler Kurtson, who was laying down mortar next to her, looked up and said, "Yeah I'm down" and Mackenzie Morrison next to him said, "Oh yeah no, I'm not leaving til the last tile's laid in this room". The leader was kind of shocked and told us we were the only group who ever asked to stay longer. Jen [Kentera] took a poll of who wanted to stay and no one was opposed. And the energy picked up so fast- the way we worked for that next hour was electric. We turned up the music and churned out maybe 20 more tiles, holding planks as we held them in place to dry. Walking away from the worksite with the sense of accomplishment on our back was like we just beat Duke again.

What skills (social or physical) did you use or learn to complete a successful project?
Teamwork- we helped each other constantly wether it was handing a tool, cleaning someone else's bucket, or getting them more mortar.
Communication- we were so polite asking for help and explaining better techniques that we figured out for how to get a job done.
Mental toughness (the heat was awful)
Patience- learning how to build a house is frustrating, especially when you want to be good right away so you can finish the job in a week!!

How will you carry your experience back to campus with you?
In obvious ways like volunteering through LRSA and getting involved more. But also in little ways like helping someone out if they're struggling with school or some skill at practice, just like we encouraged each other when learning new skills like building a house.

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