From the Shenandoah to South Dakota

Tom DiLena and I tag-teamed to write an article for JMU's Madison magazine. I submitted it the other day to the editor, but in case it doesn't get chosen for publication, I thought I'd post it here.

Lisa: Alternative Spring Break. One dozen students living in a remote location for a week performing physically demanding tasks. Like the TV show Survivor. In my day, students camped overnight in Wilson Hall for a chance to sign up, and I could never bring myself to do it. I understand now there’s a lottery to select participants, but this year, I had a loophole: I’m a JMU staff member, granting me a pass to the island - or in this case, to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. I would be serving as the trip’s learning partner, or “designated adult.” I was IN - now, I just needed to survive.

Tom: I went on this trip for all the wrong reasons. I transferred into JMU my junior year and had no friends. I was looking to meet people from my school, as I was sure that living with them for a week would ensure I came back with at least a few friends. However, I severely underestimated the emotional impact this trip (and the people we interacted with) would have on me.

Lisa: We each had our own reasons for participating - none of which involved the plight of the Lakota people. We would soon learn differently. Pine Ridge has one of the lowest life expectancies in the entire Western Hemisphere, second only to Haiti. Hearing this prior to arriving on the reservation was one thing. Seeing it was another.

Tom: Because I only went on this trip for my own selfish reasons, that made the impact of what I saw and experienced hit even harder. After seeing the quality of life in which the Lakota people were living along with the harsh conditions they faced daily, I couldn't help but gain a huge amount of respect for them. The trip quickly stopped being about me and became about them.

Lisa: I had never worked so hard in my life. Our first work day we carried lumber and tools a quarter mile down a frozen mud road to lay floors in an unheated house. If I close my eyes I can still hear the roar of the angry wind and feel the air so cold my body stopped shivering. Still, just up the road, there were twelve people living in a trailer with plastic sheets for windows and discarded tires where a playground should be. For the child I saw outside in the cold with no jacket, for the woman who used her black mold-infested lungs to declare daily that the Creator is good, I endured.

Tom: Our days were spent in workshops building beds and wheelchair ramps for the Lakota people. For some, it would be the first bed they ever had. Seeing the joy and appreciation on their faces as we presented them with these items was truly an indescribable experience.

Lisa: What little we were able to contribute that week, however, pales in comparison with what we were given. Yes, I survived Pine Ridge, but part of me remains there.

Tom: What I got out of this trip was far more than just some friends. I realized that I could make a difference in people's lives. I was so moved by my experience there that I plan on leading the trip next Spring. This time I will go for the right reasons.