Overview
CCE’s Immersion programs offer week-long trips to local communities where students engage with the community, learn about a variety of social justice issues and reflect on their experiences. Our immersion programs are designed around the Arrupe Engagement Pathways: Direct Service, Faith & Justice, Philanthropy, Policy & Politics, Advocacy & Awareness, Social Innovation, and Community Engaged Learning & Research.
Spring Break Immersions - March 11th through 15th (dates may vary by site)
Spring break immersions cost $375 (including a $75 non-refundable deposit) and cover all travel and program costs including transportation, lodging, meals, and a donation to host organizations. Registration for Spring break immersions is open now! A limited number of partial program fee waivers are available. Students can apply for a partial program fee waiver HERE.
2023-2024 Sites:
- Tacoma & Olympia, Washington - L'Arche Tahoma Hope & WA Legislature (Direct Service, Politics & Governance Pathway)
Spend a week in western Washington learning about disability justice. Split your time with the L'Arche community and at Washington's Capitol Campus experiencing the legislative process and learning how state policy and governance impacts local communities. - Sisters, Oregon - Sisters Habitat for Humanity (Direct Service Pathway)
Support a Habitat for Humanity home build while learning about issues-related to housing security and access in local communities.
Justice in January Program
The Justice in January program is a year-long community-engaged learning program that invites students to Humanize, Accompany, and Complicate the issue of migration and the individuals and communities affected by migration in the U.S./Mexico borderlands. Throughout the program students explore the realities of immigration and border issues along the U.S./Mexico border and enter into dialogue with individuals impacted by immigration, community leaders, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. The Justice in January program consists of three parts:
Context Course (Fall Semester). In the Fall semester, students enroll in SOSJ 280, a 1-credit course that provides a brief sociologically-informed political, economic, and cultural overview of the U.S./Mexico border and border communities. Students utilize this common baseline of knowledge to inform their immersion experience.
Immersion Experience (Winter Break). During winter break, students participate in a week-long immersion experience in communities along the U.S./Mexico border. While every immersion experience is unique and dependent on community partner availability and capacity, below are some of the partners we have engaged with in past immersions:
- Border Angels (San Diego/Tijuana)
- Border Patrol
- Deported Veterans (San Diego/Tijuana)
- Esperanza International (San Diego/Tijuana)
- Immigration Lawyers
- Kino Border Initiative (Tucson/Nogales)
- Medical Examiners
- Participate in community Mass
- Tohono O’odham Nation (Tucson/Nogales)
- Sierra Club
- Water Stations (San Diego/Tijuana)
- Visits to cultural sites and/or museums
Advocacy Internship/Project (Spring Semester). In the Spring semester, students individually and collectively engage in advocacy internships/projects on campus and in the Spokane community. Note: students have the option to register for internship credit.
Program Cost
The Justice in January program cost varies from year to year and is assessed as a SOSJ 280 course fee in the Fall semester. The program fee for 2024-25 academic year is $925.00 and covers program expenses for all three parts of the program including text materials for SOSJ 280, expenses for the immersion experience including transportation, lodging, meals, donations to partner organizations and a one-way flight to Spokane from the immersion site at the end of the trip, and materials and transportation for the spring advocacy internships/projects.
What does this fee not cover? Students are responsible for responsible for covering the cost of transportation to the immersion site. This fee covers three meals per day while on site but does not cover meals and snacks while traveling to the site or coffee or other extras that participants may wish to have. Participants should plan to bring cash (USD) in the amount of $50.00. There may also be opportunities for participants to buy souvenirs at the site and participants should bring cash and/or a credit/debit card if interested in these opportunities. Note: many vendors we engage with do not accept cards, so carrying some extra cash is advised.
Program Registration
Registration for the 2024-2025 Justice in January Program opens March 1, 2024! Click HERE to apply to the program. Students can apply for a partial program fee waiver from March 1, 2024, through March 31, 2024.
Apply to be a Student Leader!
We are currently looking for Justice in January Student Leaders for the 2025-2026 academic year! As a student leader, you will have the opportunity to lead an immersion trip (alongside a faculty or staff advisor) and receive a full program fee waiver for your service. Apply to be a student leader HERE.
If you have questions, please contact Tiffany Picotte at picotte@gonzaga.edu.