MOUNT ALOYSIUS STUDENTS SPEND SPRING BREAK VOLUNTEERING IN GUYANA

Over spring break 12 students and staff members from Mount Aloysius College decided to spend their time giving back and having an experience of a lifetime. The trip was organized through the MAC Campus Ministry department. The group traveled to the South American country of Guyana. While there, they did activities in various schools, helped work on a house for Habitat for Humanity, spent time at a boys' orphanage and were immersed in the Guyanese culture. Two members of the group were sophomore student-athletes from the MAC cross country team, Cynthia Santoyo and Chris McHugh. Head women’s volleyball coach Brianna Baker was one of the staff members who went on the trip. Here are a few words from the two students who attended the trip: 

" I considered myself a grateful individual prior to the trip but after seeing the reality of a third world country, it blew my mind. Every day our group would see and learn about new things that shocked us and allowed for our mind to open to the things we have that we don't give enough appreciation for...It was a life changing experience that I never thought would impact me in such a way..."~Cynthia Santoyo

 “I am truly blessed to have had an opportunity such as this trip to Guyana. I thought that I understood how to truly appreciate what I have and how to love the people around me. I was wrong. Going to an area where it is common to have nothing has given me a new perspective of life. I cannot put into words all of the feelings I have. What I can say is that I am forever grateful for the friends that I made and the memories that I will never forget. I went to Guyana hoping to give yet I left Guyana taking more with me than I ever could have given.” ~Chris McHugh