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SLU Students Travel to Belize for Service Immersion Experience

08/22/2025

Eight undergraduate students from Saint Louis University’s School of Education traveled to Belize in May for a weeklong service immersion experience. Led by the new Herrmann Center for Innovative Catholic Education, the students conducted reading assessments at St. Martin de Porres, a Jesuit parish school in Belize City, and engaged in cultural and spiritual reflections throughout the trip.

SLU students and professors posing on a stairway with Belizean students and teachers. The Belizean students are wearing blue school uniforms.
SLU students and faculty forged connections with students and teachers from St. Martin de Porres.

Service at St. Martin de Porres

The SLU students partnered with the primary school at St. Martin de Porres in Belize City’s southside neighborhood. Over four intensive days, they conducted reading assessments for more than 300 elementary students.

Roxana Encalada, incoming principal and literacy coordinator at St. Martin’s, emphasized the impact of the students’ efforts:

“The St. Martin’s children were assessed for fluency and comprehension by our eight SLU students over the course of four days," Encalada said. I estimated that the process would have taken me three to four weeks to complete that many students. The SLU students were a tremendous help, and they did great work!”

For the undergraduates, the opportunity to serve was also a meaningful learning experience.

“I was amazed by how welcoming the students at St. Martin’s were,” said Maddie Underwood, one of the participants. “I have never been to a school in which students were that excited to interact with new teachers.”

A SLU student sits at a picnic table with a younger student wearing a blue school uniform while looking at school work
A SLU student conducts a reading assessment with a student from St. Martin de Porres

Cultural Immersion

The immersion trip extended beyond classroom service. Each evening, the group gathered for reflection on themes of belonging, intentionality, cultural competency, spirituality and social justice.

Students also participated in cultural experiences across Belize. Highlights included visiting museums in Belize City, joining a Catholic procession honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, hiking to Mayan archaeological sites, and snorkeling off the shores of Caye Caulker. The group also shared meals and conversations with peers at St. John’s College, a Jesuit university in Belize.

 

Jayson Hancock, another student participant, reflected on the hospitality of their hosts.

“Everyone we met in Belize made our group feel welcomed in every way possible," Hancock said. "The students, the staff, and the Jesuits all made an effort to make sure we enjoyed the time that we spent in Belize. This goes from dinner with the sisters and the SJC students all the way to the students at St. Martin de Porres wanting us to play with them at recess.

Reflections on Impact

Bryan Sokol, Ph.D., associate professor and Herrmann Center community engagement fellow, led and organized the trip alongside Benton Brown, Ph.D., assistant dean for teacher education. 

SLU students and faculty stand on a 3-D sign with letters that spell out Belize. A beach and ocean are visible in the background.
 

“I truly love the people of Belize, and the opportunity our SLU students had to learn and serve was remarkable,” Sokol said. “These kinds of experiences are just one of the innovative ways that the Herrmann Center can achieve its mission — combining service to others with unique opportunities to learn about different cultures. Our students had a once-in-a-lifetime moment in Belize, but we hope to replicate it again in future years with other SLU School of Education students.”

The immersion trip reflects the School of Education’s commitment to forming reflective educators and leaders who advance justice and opportunity in schools and communities.