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News
Apr 30 2025
The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Photo credit: Art Meripol
Welcome to our 2025 blog for the May term SST course “Environmental Disaster and Response with MDS”! Each year this course partners with Mennonite Disaster Service to explore first-hand the direct impact of environmental disaster on a local community, with an emphasis on social inequalities and the resources, relief, and response available to communities post disaster. This year, MDS assigned us to their worksite in Selma, Alabama, which was hit by a tornado in January of 2023. Selma also has a rich history of resistance, organizing, and leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. Selma has long been an epicenter of community work centered around racial justice and equal rights for all. During the next three weeks we will be learning about the intersection between environmental justice and racial justice as we serve with MDS, talk with Selma community members, and visit sites of cultural and historical significance in Selma and the surrounding area. Our group consists of 11 fantastic GC students and co-leaders Hillary Harder and Micah Detweiler. Students will take turns writing blog posts to share about their experiences and learning. Our group will depart tomorrow, Thursday, May 1, driving together in a GC van and minibus. Thank you for following along with us on our journey!
-Hillary Harder
By Hillary Harder On Friday night, June 19, our group gathered at our Quito headquarters, La Casa de Espiritualidad, to mark the end of our Study period in Quito. We were joined by our host families, professors, and many community…
During our six weeks of study in Quito, students had the opportunity to take classes in two specialized areas: Lengua de Señas Ecuatoriana (LSEC), or Ecuadorian sign language; and Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities of Ecuador. This post includes reflections from…
In week two of our trip, our class went on its first train ride in Northern Ireland, and some of us rode a train for the first time! We were on our way to one of Northern Ireland’s more famous...