Leslie Helmen
I decided to do this trip because of the enormous impact that similar trips have had on my own life. As a Spanish teacher, I have had many opportunities to travel. However, those experiences that have been most meaningful to me have been those in which I have had the opportunity to serve and to reach out to someone else. As participants of a Habitat Global Village team to Guatemala, Johnson students will have the opportunity to make a lasting impact on someone else’s life.
Beyond the tremendous value of the work itself, I believe in the potential for this trip to make a life-changing difference in the lives of our students. In preparing for the trip, Johnson students will experience what it is to have a dream, work towards that dream, and then, ultimately, to achieve it. Later, as participants of the trip itself, our students will experience the unique kind of personal growth that occurs when you know that you’ve made a difference in the world, that you’ve touched someone else’s life in such a meaningful and tangible way. Not only will their efforts impact the life of a family in Guatemala, I believe that their lives will be forever impacted as well. “In every person’s lifetime, there are moments that will never be forgotten.” I believe this trip will be filled with those moments.
