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By Greg Olson, golson@myjournalcourier.com, Jacksonville Journal Courier 

The students and three members of IC’s staff spent the first week of March in Puerto Rico, where they experienced the island nation’s culture and assisted its people in recovering from two major hurricanes that struck in September.

Ana Flores, project coordinator for IC’s admissions office and coordinator of the college’s Khalaf Al Habtoor Leadership Program, explained why Puerto Rico was chosen as a spring break destination for the students.

“My family and I brainstormed this past winter about a unique alternative spring break experience for IC students,” Flores said. “My aunt suggested going to Puerto Rico to assist with hurricane relief.”

Flores then reached out to Diana Grullon-Garcia, assistant professor of Spanish and Latin American literature at IC, who is a native of Puerto Rico.

“It was an opportunity for me to go back to my island and give back to my people,” Grullon-Garcia said.

Six of the 13 students spoke about the trip during a PowerPoint presentation Tuesday in Baxter lounge on campus.

Senior Christian Flores '18 of Addison talked about the community service the group performed in Puerto Rico.

“As a Latino, it was important for me to contribute to an underserved Latino community,” he said. “It was heartbreaking for me to see how neglected Puerto Rico was in comparison to the way Americans responded to the hurricane damage in Florida and Texas, and it gave meaning to me for the community service I performed.”

Sophomore Kalli Kaney '20 of Pearl City said it was a humbling experience.

“I really enjoyed experiencing the culture,” she said. “Everyone we met was very welcoming and grateful that we were there. The community service was a lot harder than I expected it to be. It was emotional seeing how the hurricanes affected the people of Puerto Rico.”

IC Provost Catharine O’Connell, who accompanied Flores, Grullon-Garcia and the students on the trip, said it provided a powerful educational experience.

“Team leaders Ana Flores and Diana Grullon-Garcia ensured that the community service work was deeply contextualized so that students came to understand the vexed history of Puerto Rico and the ways in which the natural disaster of the hurricanes compounded the ‘unnatural’ disaster of poverty and political neglect,” O’Connell said.

“Three elements combined to make the Puerto Rico trip particularly effective,” she said. “First, the pre-trip readings and discussions ensured that students embarked on the trip ready to encounter the culture and with an understanding of the historical conditions compounding the devastation of the hurricanes. Second, the service projects met real community needs and underscored the challenges of the recovery effort. Finally, the trip activities promoted wonderful team building and helped all involved to move beyond their comfort zones, whether culturally, linguistically, or physically, such as cave exploration.”

Senior Jess Frausto '18 of Chicago said she enjoyed helping to rebuild Puerto Rico with other IC students.

“It definitely helped me grow,” she said. “I was able to learn new ways to help people and not take life for granted. I thought it was amazing how well I could work with my fellow IC students. It was easy to work with them, even though we didn’t necessarily know each other.”

The group spent three days in San Juan learning the history of the city and Puerto Rico’s connections to Spain and the United States.

They then spent a day in Morovis, a rural town in central Puerto Rico, where they cleaned up a person’s property strewn with hurricane debris and then planted a vegetable garden. After planting the garden, the group hiked into the hills and explored three caves.

The next stop was Vieques, an island off the east coast of Puerto Rico, where they helped demolish the hurricane-damaged home of a blind 90-year-old U.S. military veteran who built the house 40 years ago.

“We were told that [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] will help him rebuild once his property is cleared,” O’Connell said.

The group stayed on Vieques for four days, during which time they also helped restore an important tourist beach.

“I was particularly struck by and impressed with the extraordinary work ethic of the students,” O’Connell said. “Working with a team in the hot sun, I had to ask a student to set his watch to ensure that students took regular water breaks — they didn’t want to stop. Everyone was aware of the tremendous needs and the short time we had to try to meet them. These students understand and embrace their responsibility to make a positive difference in the world.”