In this rural Appalachian experience, UD students will get a glimpse into the UD Summer Appalachia Program (UDSAP) by visiting the local residents and learning of their rich culture, while building relationships. Participants will stay at the “UDSAP house” in Salyersville, visit families, and participate in Salyersville’s Labor Day festivities. This experience will likely also include some hiking and exploring of the Red River Gorge!

Students and a reflection leader will explore the rich history of St. Louis, MO and the surrounding areas, hosted by St Christopher’s Journeys. The experience includes visits to Father Augustus Tolton’s birthplace, tomb and other historical sites. Tolton, a former enslaved person, was the first known black Roman Catholic priest in the United States. Explore some of the roots of the Black Lives Matter movement in Ferguson, MO while meeting with local activists and leaders.

• Reach out beyond the confines of your comfort zone.  Your discoveries may surprise you. 
• Encounter Dayton and its many gifts, especially our neighbors whose passion and compassion make Dayton so special. 
• Act with others by taking part in a service experience done on campus in collaboration with local partners.  
• Lead together with Daytonians and fellow Flyers to build a stronger community.  The REAL Dayton is just the beginning of leading for the common good with our neighbors and friends.

• Students will be immersed in the city of Dayton to meet your neighbors in Dayton, serve your community, recognize Dayton’s gifts and challenges, be inspired by citizen leaders making a difference in Dayton, discover Dayton cultural gems, learn, pray, reflect and connect faith and life. 

Spend a week on a service-based retreat in the beautiful mountains of Appalachia with Nazareth Farm. Nazareth Farm is devoted to living out the Gospel message through the cornerstones of community, simplicity, prayer, and service. They serve alongside their neighbors in Doddridge County, WV to address substandard housing by providing home repair.Along the way, they build relationships and community!

This urban immersion is hosted by the Amate House fellows in the communities in which they serve in Chicago, IL. Through the tenets of Service, Community, Faith, Social Justice and Stewardship, Amate House fellows dedicate a year of their lives to serving alongside and learning from community leaders who are solving social justice issues in under-resourced communities of Chicago. This BreakOut is an opportunity to get a glimpse of that journey and to learn and share along the way.

This BreakOut experience takes students to San Salvador, El Salvador through CRISPAZ (Christians for Peace in El Salvador). There, participants will meet Salvadorans, hear their stories, and accompany them for a short time in their daily lives. This experience is full of educational, experiential, and spiritual opportunities for growth. Truly an immersion experience, as participants have a chance to see first-hand sights of triumph and trial in El Salvador’s economic, spiritual, and political history and present.

Join Marianist biologist Brother Giovanni Onore, SM, and learn about the local history, culture, climate, government and topography in Ecuador. See both the city life of Quito and the rural life in the cloud forests in the Otonga Nature Preserve, learning from the local communities. Grow in understanding of the local culture and the joys and struggles of maintaining a viable natural environment for the planet and its inhabitants. Through this BreakOut, Pope Francis’ call to “care for our common home,” our planet, comes to life through education, prayer, and reflection.

In this rural Appalachian experience, UD students will get a glimpse into the UD Summer Appalachia Program (UDSAP) by visiting the local residents and learning of their rich culture, while building relationships. Participants will stay at the “UDSAP house” in Salyersville, visit families, visit the nursing home, spend time with the children and teens, hear from local experts on culture, and enjoy a simpler way of life. This small Appalachian community welcomes UD students each year and has a great willingness to share its culture. Kentucky BreakOut’ers will likely find some time to go hiking through the mountains too.

Spend a week traveling through time to discover the power of the people, especially students, had on the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation in the US. This student-led pilgrimage will visit Nashville, Birmingham, Savannah, Charleston, Greensboro, visiting HBCUs, Museums, Tours, Speakers. This journey will be one of faith, action, education, and fun.

L: Listen to the Holy Spirit and one another,

E: Encounter the Marianist Family,

A: Act for the common good,

D: Deepen the call to serve. 

After meeting together in formation, LEAD with Mary culminates in a week-long immersion rich with community-building, service, prayer, reflection, and fun. This year’s LEAD with Mary will take place in Dayton, exploring issues of food access and hospitality.