Spring break spent on mission
Niles graduate visits Dominican Republic to help
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NILES -- For the first time, Kaylee Adkins spent her college spring break traveling out of the country.
However, it wasn't a typical beach vacation for the University of Mount Union student but a humanitarian excursion to the Dominican Republic.
"I work at the Mary and Ralph Regula Center for Public Service and Civic Engagement on campus. My boss attended and graduated from Mount Union. She went on the trip when she was in college. They went to El Salvador. She said how much it changed her life. Being that she is someone that I look up to since I have been here, I asked her questions and she shared a little bit more about the trip and I decided to do it," Adkins said.
The Social Responsibili-ties trip was created 30 years ago by now-retired psychology professor, Dr. Steve Kramer.
"He wanted to offer students a way to see the world and how other cultures live, while at the same time trying to make the world a better place," said Kelly Stout, assistant professor of Sociology at the University of Mount Union, who also went on the trip.
Adkins, a 2020 Niles McKinley High School graduate, initially became involved in volunteer work while she was a student there, including blood drives in conjunction with the American Red Cross, and nursing home visits.
"My Aunt Kristie was in Key Club (the student volunteer service group at the high school). I remembered her talking about it. So, when I entered high school, I looked for ways to get involved and I remembered Key Club," Adkins said.
During her senior year, she was co-president of the club.
She is the daughter of Dan and Mary Adkins of Niles. Her brother, Logan, attends Niles Intermediate School. Adkins had to complete a process to go on this trip.
"The trip is limited to 15 people. I had to apply and take the Social Responsibility class in the philosophy department. I had to fill out an application and I was interviewed," she said.
When the junior primary education major left with the group, she immediately noticed a difference in the weather. Visiting March 3 through 10, temperatures rose to 90 degrees during the day.
Once we started getting to the countryside, which is where we spent our time, I noticed a lot of these major differences from what I'm used to in Niles and Alliance in college. It was already hot and humid," Adkins said.
While in the Dominican Republic, Adkins worked on building projects and with local schoolchildren.
"We worked Monday through Wednesday. We left our hotel at 8 a.m. and finished at 8:30 p.m., including meals. When I got to the hotel, I just went to bed. We repaired roofs on three houses. We repaired a side of one of the houses," she said.
Roofing materials are made of sheet metal rather than asphalt, which is common in the United States.
"Being in the schools was especially interesting for me since I am an education major. I saw how schools are there compared to ours," Adkins said.
She also experienced the native culture, including the food. The pastor of the local Methodist Church was an intermediary between the group and the local people. He also provided a driver from the hotel to work sites.
"Every day we tried something that was a little bit different. The pastor's wife cooked for us. We were fully immersed in the culture from the time we landed. The fruit that we tried, they would just pick them off the tree and they were so fresh. Everything was good. One of the things we ate a lot of was plantains. They were made several different ways," Adkins said.
There were some difficulties during her time helping others.
"The people there mostly spoke Spanish. I had some difficulty putting together sentences to talk back. I could put basic sentences together. We had translators," she said.
Stout disagreed with Adkins' assessment of her language skills.
"At the beginning of the trip, Kaylee was a little quiet and reserved but by the end she was in the middle of playing with children, talking with people from the church and speaking way more Spanish than me," Stout said.
Adkins and the group also dealt with infrastructure.
"We had a pretty interesting Wednesday night. We were going to a church service where they were going to thank us for our service. After we got back from work, we found out that where we were supposed to go, they were out of electricity, which was common for them. They just don't have enough electricity to power the whole city and they did not know when it would come back. So, the pastor thought it would be in our best interest to relocate. He found us a hotel in Santo Domingo," Adkins said.
In just a few days, she realized that her group made a difference in the lives of the people there. Some of the people got up and gave a short speech about how much they appreciated them being there. The parishioners made a short video and gave them photos of the work they had done.
"The first house that we fixed the roof, the man was just starting cancer treatments and rain was getting in his house and he could not afford to fix it while paying for treatments," Adkins said.
"This trip has impacted many lives; the students who go on the trip and the people they meet while participating. Many students have never left the country and others have never flown. Those experiences are very impactful, but giving back and doing something good for other people is what makes this trip really special," Stout said. "I know this trip opened Kaylee's eyes to different career opportunities. I think her passion for helping people will serve her well in whatever profession she decides on. Whether it's teaching, public service or nonprofit work, I expect Kaylee will excel at it."