Written by: Harrison Bell '24
As a first-year student in college, if you had told me that Campus Ministry and the SEND programs
would be a big part of my Merrimack experience, I would have laughed in your face. I thought I was
destined to become a mechanical engineer to help solve modern-day problems. I still solve problems but
in a different way. In the spring of my sophomore year, Antoni Piascik approached me with the idea of
doing an engineering-based service project in Honduras. I thought, “Sure, this would be fun and look
good on a resumé.”
Heading into junior year, with limited funding, we decided to turn to Campus Ministry for help. With the
gracious offering of Father Ray, he welcomed us into the SEND Program, with Rileigh Armstrong as our
point of contact. As the fall semester finished and the spring semester zoomed past us, we were on our
way to Honduras.
In Honduras, we worked with Global Brigades and a local community to help map pipelines for clean,
drinkable water access. As we finished our service trip, I knew 2 things were certain:
1. Antoni and I would lead another trip to Honduras during our Senior Year.
2. Something about service spoke to me that engineering had not.
As I finished my junior year, the first trip to Honduras changed me. I know it sounds cliché, but
something about a week-long service immersion trip changes you.
As a senior, I became more involved with Campus Ministry. I went to the Ignatian Family Teach-In for
Justice in October with other SEND leaders and began to search for answers to where God was calling
me.
As the second semester started, I still felt uneasy about my future, yet I was excited for our upcoming trip
to Honduras. Again, Antoni and I led another group of students to Honduras for a similar project in a
different community. I went to Honduras hoping to find answers to questions I had about my life, and I
returned with more.
Both SEND trips impacted the way I saw the world and my role in the world. I still think about them
often and how I was personally able to impact someone's future. Reflecting on my experiences, I
remember being frustrated that we could not fix the problem, yet I am reminded that this is not the
purpose of service. The purpose of service is to listen and encounter these experiences in order to be more
informed so that we can work towards changing the systems that are equitable to all.
As I finished my undergraduate studies, the itch of serving others through Campus Ministry was still very
much on my mind. In late March, I applied to two graduate programs focused on theology and ministry.
Flash forward to today; I am a first-year graduate student studying Theology and Ministry at Villanova
University. I serve as a Graduate Resident Minister in a first-year hall where I provide religious, spiritual,
and emotional support to first-years as they navigate the transition to college. I also work in the Office of
Mission and Ministry as a graduate assistant in the Center for the Common Good, working with the
Service and Justice Experiences.
Campus Ministry and the SEND programs have changed my life. They have allowed me the space to
reflect and be open to where God is calling me in this world. Without the SEND programs and Campus
Ministry, I would be a very different person without them.
Say yes to opening yourself to a new experience. In ways in which you do not expect it, they open you up
to things that you did not think were possible.
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