“You don’t have to travel all the way across the world to make a really big difference,” Gwen Strasberg ’19, organizer of the Archer trip to Mexico, said.

On April 29 from 5:30am to 7:30pm, a group comprised of the Girl Up Club, Archer dads and other students traveled to an orphanage supported by the Corazon de Vida Organization.  The orphanage is located in Tijuana, Mexico, just 20 minutes outside the US border. During the trip, volunteers spent time with and played with the kids at the orphanage.

Strasberg learned about the organization after senior Lulu Cerone introduced Strasberg to the organization. She has been to the orphanage several times and frequently goes back to volunteer.

“It’s always been this incredible experience that I cannot compare anything to,” Strasberg said.

Strasberg felt that this trip was a great fit for the Archer community. She thinks it fits closely with the idea of community that Archer holds.

“I know that [the students] are just as passionate as I am, ” Strasberg said. “It’s an experience that I think everyone should have.”

She believes that this trip was an important lesson for the students who attended the trip.

“This trip wasn’t only for the kids but for [the students’] self-growth,” she said.

Rae Godfredsen ’19 was one of the 13 students to go on this trip. She realized that everything she gave to the kids, they gave back to her.

“It was pretty amazing to see how open the kids were to strangers coming into their homes they accepted us right away with big smiles and hugs,” she said.

Godfredsen felt that this trip was a learning experience for herself and her peers.

“While you give back to the community, you are also benefiting as well. It really is a win-win situation,” she said.

“It is kind of amazing how one thing that you are not expecting to change your life just does,” Strasberg said.

To learn more about the organization and hear other participants’ perspectives on the trip, watch the video created by sophomore Ruby Colby below.