Darin Sisneros
The Paw Print
Alternative spring break –Hatch, New Mexico
Six ASU Students took part in an alternative spring break service trip to Hatch, New Mexico. The trip was sponsored by ASU Newman in partnership with United Campus Ministry. The trip connected ASU students with students from Western, CSU Pueblo, and Fort Lewis College, whose spring breaks all coincided this year. The students all had diverse backgrounds with majors such as music, business, sociology, and biology, but they worked as one to serve the people of Hatch.
Hatch is known as the “Chile Capital of the World.”
Fifteen houses were selected by the local Catholic church of Hatch as in need of assistance. “One of the hardest challenges of these projects was to get the right supplies for each house given our limited amount of time and resources, but once we started working on the homes, everything seemed to fall into place.” said ASU student Drake Sisneros. A local contractor volunteered his time to work alongside the volunteers and provided direction and expertise. The students served for three full days patching and replacing roofs, cleaning yards, landscaping, and painting. At the end of the third day, the students had served eight homes. “The people of Hatch were super grateful. Throughout our time there the people of Hatch gave us generous offerings of food, resources, and support,” said ASU student Krystal Nuccitelli.
A highlight of the trip was an early morning Mass with fieldworkers in an onion field. Another was a visit to the U.S. – Mexico border in El Paso, speaking with border patrol agents, and learning more about border issues. The students were able to see two very different lifestyles but also commonalities between people within the US and the people just across the fence. “We learned about how hard life is economically for so many in Mexico and why people often have no other choice but to cross the border,” said ASU student Bella Whitten.
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