When Dominican University student Lynn Reisberg left Cuernavaca, Mexico after a service trip there last year, she knew she would be back.

During her first journey to the country in January 2009, she worked at an orphanage for economically disadvantaged children and learned that they didn’t have access to medical care, which motivated her to switch her major from psychology to nursing.

Now she plans on participating in a medical internship at the same children’s home after she graduates from nursing school.

Reisberg, along with 12 students from the River Forest school, spent a week in January volunteering and immersing themselves in the culture of the impoverished country. They gave a presentation about the trip to the Dominican community Feb. 24 to share their reflections and generate interest for future students.

“The trip made me much more socially aware, it’s really understanding peoples’ needs and the need to serve,” said Reisberg, who is a junior at Dominican. “It’s not just giving them a handout, it’s about giving them get a leg up.”

The Oak Park resident was taken aback by the living conditions. She witnessed people living in cardboard and tin shacks with no indoor plumbing or electricity.

“It was the first time I’d seen complete lack of human rights,” Reisberg said. “It was shocking to see people not having clean water to drink and going to the bathroom in buckets.”

Reisberg said she knew what to expect this year, which allowed her to learn more about the culture and speak with residents in an effort to understand the issues they cared about, such as living on minimum wage and immigration.

In Mexico, the students mixed and poured a cement floor for a woman with two children who lived in a hut with a dirt floor. They also spent two days at the orphanage where they repaved the playground and sanded and painted 75 desks.

“The desks were old and some were broken,” Reisberg said. “Parents in the U.S. wouldn’t even allow their children to have these desks, but they don’t have that luxury.”

The group stayed at the Cuernavaca Center for Intercultural Dialogue on Development, a Christian social justice center that engages groups of visitors in cross-cultural experiences, spiritual reflection and social analysis. The center was where the students participated in lectures on immigration and learned about the history of Mexico.

Dominican’s Director of Service Learning, MaDonna Thelen, formed a partnership with the organization in 2009 and coordinated the trip.

“I was interested in developing an international aspect to the program for students so they could do not only local volunteering, but service in another country,” Thelen said.

She said the excursions have had a major impact on students and will become an annual trip.

“Students gain a sense of understanding of being a global citizen,” Thelen said. “They also delve deeper into their own lives and start to focus on the ideals to build justice and peace in the world.”

By Katie Leimkuehler/TribLocal community manager

Photos submitted by Michelle Calvert