Regis Student-Athletes Humbled By Peru Experience

In the spirit of the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph, the Center for Ministry and Service at Regis seeks to offer students the opportunity to serve our "Dear Neighbor". For two Pride student-athletes, a trip to Peru in the spring of 2017 provided just such an opportunity and one that gave them appreciation for everyday life beyond the US borders.

For senior swimmer Rob Ekberg and sophomore sprinter Fred Mathieu of the Pride track & field team, the Peru Solidarity Trip was both an eye-opening and enriching experience. Joined by assistant athletic director Laura Violette and a host of several other Regis students, the pair traveled to Villa El Salvador, a coastal village of 400,000 residents and located 12 miles outside of Lima.

The visit to Peru, a cross between a service and immersion trip, was designed to allow Regis students to stand and live in solidarity with a community of people that have very different living circumstances than their own. During the trip, the students worked with the community, the local church youth group, orphanages, young adults from the local university, and elderly who reside in nursing homes.

Regis Athletics had a chance to sit down with Ekberg and Mathieu who shared their experience.

What made you want to take part in the Peru Solidarity Trip?

Mathieu: I felt that I should take this opportunity because not too many people can have it. So after many, many talks I chose to take a step forward rather than take a step back.

Ekberg: (Graduate Intern) Jeff Parrish told me I should go and a spot opened up for me last year but because of swimming and other stuff I was doing on the side I wasn't able to do it. I've been on 5-6 service trips and I had friends here tell me how they loved it and wished they could go back. So they pushed me to apply and the rest is history.

What was the most memorable part of the trip?

Ekberg: That's really a tough one. It wasn't one moment but the dancing was one thing I will
always remember about the trip. We danced every single night we were there. I had a chance to dance with the elderly, the younger kids, teenagers. One night we had a dance off that lasted a solid two hours and I needed to take down a gallon of water afterwards.

Mathieu: The whole experience itself was what was memorable. You go over and meet a bunch of strangers but when you leave they're family. We danced and laughed for hours without even knowing the language. You immediately click with everyone who's there because you share that common joy (of dancing).

Now that you've had a chance to reflect on the experience, what was your biggest takeaway?

Mathieu: My biggest takeaway is to always be humble; to never forget that my efforts will never be in vain and whenever I doubt myself and wonder if what I'm doing is worth it, I'll think back to Peru and say 'yes, it's absolutely worth it". This opportunity wasn't given to too many people and I just want to take advantage of what I learned going forward in life.

Ekberg: To be humble and grateful for what we have and for where we live. Seeing the living conditions was breathtaking and how the people manage to live and survive. The place we were at was settled just four decades ago and didn't have the cleanest water to shower and bathe in. Now one of the things I appreciate is just having a simple shower in my house. The small things are what we need to be grateful for.

Each Regis service trip presents it challenges, what were some that you faced in Peru?

Mathieu: One of the difficulties was knowing that you share so many similarities with the people down there but due to their circumstances things are much tougher. I met a woman whose family consisted of six children, same as I, and a mother who passed away from cancer, same as I. Her siblings were scattered and raised in different areas, and she struggling to raise two kids. It was tough for her to not grow up with a mother by her side and I knew how she felt.

Ekberg: I think back to other trips i've been on and what distinguishes this one was how I became more grateful for the small things in life. I remember talking to some of kids at the local university that were the same age as me but had totally different experiences growing up. They grew up faster because they needed to be more self sufficient at an early age. Many are trying to finance their way through college to get out of the situations they're in but the cost is too much and they end up not being able to finish. One example was of a woman who was on her last semester but couldn't afford the tuition so she wasn't able to get her degree. That was really challenging to me to see how people are so close to finishing school but life throws them a curveball and puts them on a another path.

Any final thoughts?

Ekberg: I highly recommend this trip to really anyone. I was talking about this to (Regis Associate Athletic Director) Mark Clemente about getting (more) guys to go on this trip. More student-athletes should branch out and take a look at different cultures and see how people live. It's a humbling experience and makes you think not only about what's going in our country but that there are other places that are connected to us.

Mathieu: Like Rob said, it is a beautiful experience. At the end of day you leave thinking to yourself what did I ever do to deserve an experience like this, and really all you have to do is apply.

For more information on Regis service & immersion and the Peru Solidarity Trip visit the Regis Center for Ministry & Service webpage.