Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (“To the Greater Glory of God”): Alternative Means of Discovering Grace.

Our service immersion program offers rising seniors an opportunity to put their faith into action in a very challenging and real way. They are about responding to the Gospel call to serve those in need, while questioning the reasons behind why people are in need. While each immersion has its own unique slant, they all encourage participants to learn about living in solidarity with people and experiencing a different way of living, often without many material possessions.

The mission of the Center for Service & Action is to educate and form men and women with and for others, especially with and for the disadvantaged and the oppressed. Through direct personal contact between students and the marginalized in service experiences, we foster a solidarity with the poor that will lead to intellectual inquiry, moral reflection and social action.

Christian Service is required of all students at Jesuit, and opportunities to reflect on the Christian dimension of service are part of the curriculum at all four levels. The theme of Freshman Christian Service is "Family." Students collect food on their overnight retreat and for the Christmas Food Drive and continue by completing 16 hours of service with and/or for their own families while enrolled in Global Studies. The Sophomore theme is "Friends." Sophomores work with one another to complete 16 hours of service while enrolled in Morality A. Juniors and Seniors complete their service hours at sites in the Sacramento community that serve people with "special needs." Juniors complete 16 hours of service while enrolled in Social Justice, and Seniors take a one-semester course entitled "Christian Service" which includes 50 hours of service in the community and 10 hours of class time.

• Amnesty International
• Music For Others
• Social Justice
• Frosh/Soph Social Justice
• Environmental Club
• Pro-Life Club
• United Students Against Sweatshops
• S.M.A.S.H.

 The innovative Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Law Clinic focuses on critical human rights issues, including migrants' rights, application of the death penalty to juveniles, and trafficking of women.  Students also work on briefs detailing international law standards to U.S. courts and represent individual clients before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

The Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education is dedicated to preserve and extend the Catholic identity and Jesuit mission of Santa Clara University. Competence, conscience, and compassion these critical qualities are built into the foundations of a Santa Clara University education. The Center's work provides students, faculty and staff with opportunities to examine Jesuit and Catholic ideals, promote social justice through community-based learning, and encourage solidarity through immersion.

Bellarmine currently supports a number of different Immersion experiences for students and faculty members. In June of each year, Bellarmine sends a delegation of approximately 10 students and 4 faculty members to El Salvador to spend two weeks with the people there, learning about their lives, and the important connection that the Jesuits have with El Salvador

During the February Winter Break, a group of roughly 10 students travels to Guaymas, Mexico, to work on a variety of projects there, to serve at a soup kitchen, and to partake in a program that works with impoverished youth.

Locally, Bellarmine sponsors both urban and rural "plunges" on a number of weekends throughout the school year. The urban plunge provides students and faculty with the opportunity to grapple with the issues related to homelessness in San Jose. Students meet with a number of different agencies that serve the homeless, and provide service via working at soup kitchens. The rural plunge takes students to Salinas for several days, where they work with and hope better to understand the struggles faced by migrant farm workers.

Seven day service trip through Borderlinks, concentrating on increasing border awareness and immigration issues.
 

One week duration service trip that build houses for the poor, programmed through Amor Ministries.
 

During Easter break, mostly junior and senior students, members of the dad’s club, and faculty travel into Tijuana to literally build a foundation for the future for four to five families living in Tijuana. Under the direction of Amor Ministries, students work in groups of about 12 on 4-5 houses. During the building of each house, family members may very well be working side by side with the students as they build the house.

Immersion trips aim to introduce students to new cultures, allowing them to assimilate unfamiliar perspectives into their own worldview with the intention of creating more globally minded citizens. These trips do not necessarily incorporate homestays, but they do allow for cultural experiences and plenty of time for getting to know the locals.

Direct service trips focus on placing students in a position to directly aid communities through hands-on experiences (ie trail maintenance, basic construction, teaching English, childcare, etc). While there is usually some time built in for education and getting to know the culture, the main goal of these trips is to directly be in service to others.

Issue specific trips are theme based, aimed at educating students about particular socioeconomic and environmental issues that affect our world. In Juarez, for example, students learn about the myriad of issues that are contributing to the recent femicide. There is usually some related direct service and cultural experiences that are built in to these trips.

*While trips usually contain all three of these components in some respect, we have categorized trips in order to highlight the main focus of each Alternative Break.

One week duration service trip with Franciscans as local contacts but hoping for more Jesuit Involvement.
 

 A group of students and faculty leaders will travel to Mexico for a 12-day Immersion in language, culture, and service. Starting in Mexico City the group will explore the vast capital city and familiarize themselves with the smells, the sights and the sounds of this metropolis of over 21 million people.  Students then travel to the outskirts of Puebla, living in solidarity with the orphan boys at IPODERAC. The group completes 50 hours of service at the orphanage while living as the community lives and helping daily with jobs that have included harvesting alfalfa for goats, woodworking, gardening, and maintenance. After 6 days of work the group heads north to the small colonial town Guanajuato, where the group will explore many attractions and reflect on their experience at the orphanage.  A final afternoon is spent back in Mexico City, where the group will further explore the city in a special walking tour.

This student-run group, based out of the Campus Ministry department, convenes weekly to discuss and learn about current issues, reflect on them in light of members' experience and beliefs, and respond to them in a way that respects the dignity of all creation. One of the primary tasks of the group is to create a safe environment in which participants can learn and develop tools for the promotion of justice beyond SCU.

During the first spring break in February, we offer a trip to Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos, an orphanage in Miacatlan, Mexico. The students would spend time at the orphanage, working with the children in various capacities from helping them with their chores to challenging them in games of soccer or softball to spending a day with them at a water park. Each Brophy student forms a close bond with his student, acting as a friend and mentor to the child. Students will spend time in prayer and reflecting, looking at the reasons why these children grow up in such poverty.

One week duration service trip with Franciscans as local contacts but hoping for more Jesuit Involvement.
 

During spring break, a large contingent of 50 students and 10 faculty members travels to Tijuana, Mexico, to build four houses for families that currently lack adequate housing