Loyola University Chicago

Campus Ministry

Division of Mission Integration

Immersions

 

 
 
 
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The Alternative Break Immersion (ABI) program provides opportunities for students to engage in service and justice through local, national, and global immersion experiences. With the support of staff and leaders, students live the five pillars - community, connectedness, justice, reflection, and simplicity - in an authentic and intentional way.

After a brief hiatus due to COVID, the ABI program is relaunching during 22-23 academic year.

Contact abi@luc.edu for more information.

 

Our Pillars

We believe that ABIs are more than weeklong service and immersion trips! Those who participate in ABIs will be challenged to integrate their experiences into their everyday lives. We believe in working with and learning from the communities we visit. We use Ignatian Spirituality to inform our hearts as we strive to embody our pillars:

Community

  • Cultivate an honest and mutual relationship with our community partners, respecting their wisdom, resources, and role as co-educators.
  • Live with and learn from people of diverse cultures, faith traditions, and values

Simplicity

  • Embrace the culture and customs of the host community by refraining from everyday material comforts
  • Be present by clearing the mind, body, and soul of distractions and assumptions

Reflection

  • Implement Ignatian Spirituality as a tool for reflection and hope
  • Utilize the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm to consider individual and communal opportunities to commit to justice

Connectedness

  • Explore an “integral ecology,” which connects the economic, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions of human life and sets them in the context of the common good and intergenerational justice
  • Examine interrelated nature of creation

Do Justice

  • Explore issues of social injustice and question systems of power, privilege, and oppression
  • Resolve to create a just, humane, and sustainable world

For student leaders: undergraduate students who are interested in leading an ABI can apply here. The priority deadline for student leader applications is Friday, October 14; the deadline is November 2. Once you've completed your application, you will receive a link to sign up for an interview.  Interviews will take place on a rolling basis.

For student participants: undergraduate students who are interested in participating in an ABI can apply here. The priority deadline for participant applications is Friday, October 14; the deadline is November 2. Once you've completed your application, you will receive a link to sign up for an interview. Interviews will take place on a rolling basis.

For staff leaders: faculty, staff, Jesuit scholastics, or graduate students interested in accompanying a group can apply here. The priority deadline for staff leader applications is Friday, October 14; the deadline is November 2. Once you've completed your application, you will receive a link to sign up for an interview. Interviews will take place on a rolling basis.

No. Students and staff from all faith backgrounds and identities are welcomed and encouraged to apply for an ABI!

 

Generally, each group is comprised of 6-12 people. This includes 1-2 student leaders and 1-2 staff leaders. Some sites include working and living in community with students from other schools. Students and staff from all faith backgrounds and identities are welcomed and encouraged to apply for an ABI!

 

The ABI experience begins with an orientation, 3-4 preparation meetings prior to the trip and includes 2-3 follow-up reflections upon returning to campus. ABIs have been transformative for many of the students and staff who participate. Participants can expect meaningful conversation, learning, reflections, and a deeper sense of community and connectedness.

 

This varies depending on the ABI! Some of our community partners offer direct service (home repair, working with children in a classroom) while others teach about the work of community leaders through lectures, visits, and discussions. All ABIs include building relationships with the group and the local community, education about the issues different communities face, and reflection on the systems that contribute to injustice in our world. Please see ABI Sites for a breakdown on where we go and what we do.

 

The cost is dependent upon the location and covers transportation, lodging, meals, and a donation to the host organization. Click here for more information on payments, refunds, and financial aid.

 

Click here to see what social injustice each experience will be exploring.

 

 

You will receive a detailed packing list closer to your experience.