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to shape little glue-sealed balls. Pulling the paper balls off
the sticks, students helped further refine them into lovely
beads the women of the co-op would use to make bracelets
and necklaces to sell.
Glancing at the price tag on an already completed
teal-colored necklace at the work table, Lenora Rosier,
20, a junior Health Sciences Administration major from
Dublin, said, “Fifteen dollars? That just might get bought
for my auntie.”
Rosier participated in MGA’s alternative spring break
service-learning trip to New Orleans earlier this year with
Keigan Evans, the University’s assistant director of Resi-
dence Life. Evans, a staff leader for Knights Impact, talked
her into coming along on the Dominican trip.
“I love it,” Rosier said, twirling a soon-to-be bead
around a stick. “I think this is the beginning of world trav-
el for me.”
Idea to Reality
Until recently, Fathom offered cruises to the Domini-
can Republic - one of two nations on the island of Hispan-
iola (the other is Haiti) - and to Cuba. All of the trips were where they worked with local artisans to create clay water
specifically designed for people interested in impact travel.
Dr. John Girard, a professor of Information Tech-
nology at MGA and frequent overseas traveler, discovered
Fathom in 2016 when he and his wife researched travel op-
tions to Cuba. While on that cruise, he learned more about
Fathom’s Dominican Republic trip and thought it would
be a great option for MGA students.
“It’s the kind of short-term, high-impact, low-cost
international experience that is perfect for students who
can’t afford a more traditional - and much longer - study
abroad program,” Girard said. “As MGA continues its
transformation from a college to a university, I believe it’s
vital that we offer these experiences for our students.”
Girard pitched the Dominican trip to Dr. Laura
Thomason, MGA’s director of International Programs,
and Chris Tsavatewa, director of the Office of Experiential
Learning. After some further investigation, they crafted
the Knights Impact program and began recruiting stu-
dents for the May 2017 cruise.
The 25 students who signed up were divided into
three cohorts led by Thomason, Girard and Evans. Stu-
dents met with their cohort leaders daily to discuss their
impact activities and attend shipboard educational semi-
nars on such topics as travel storytelling, social innovation
and life hacks. Cohort leaders encouraged the students to
keep journals.
“This is like a gateway experience for many of them,”
Thomason said. “We hope it turns them on to more inter-
national travel.”
For many of the younger students, the life-changing
experiences began even before the Adonia set sail.
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“I flew to Miami by myself, checked into a hotel
by myself and got to the port by myself,” said Esmerelda
Labra, 18, a sophomore from Macon working on her Inter-
disciplinary Studies degree. “My mother was terrified, but
this was a big step for me and it was great.”
Leaving the Bubble
Knights Impact became a family affair for sisters
Moriah and Moreh Jackson of Warner Robins. They signed
up for the trip together after seeing flyers posted around
MGA.
“I felt like I was stuck in my little bubble in Georgia,”
said Moriah Jackson, 23, a nursing major, who, along with
her 19-year-old sister, a psychology major, participated in
the English tutoring, water filtration and recycled paper
activities. “I wanted to become more aware of how other
people live their lives.”
The impact activities proved exceptionally effective
in opening their eyes to a way of life they couldn’t have
imagined before. The Jackson sisters were among several
MGA students who rode a bus for two hours to a rural site
filters that they then helped deliver to low-income Domin-
icans. More than three million people in the country have
no access to piped or potable water, according to Fathom.
English tutoring took the Jackson sisters and most
of the other MGA students straight into the homes of
Dominican families or into school classrooms. Dominican
youngsters, all wearing the standard school uniform of
light blue shirt and khaki pants, sat side by side or across
from MGA students at classroom tables and practiced
their conversational English, a skill that could open up
more job opportunities for them in the future, especially
in the tourist industry.
At the Maria Concepción Gómez Matos school, Ed-
son Silva, 48, a Health Services Administration major who
lives in Macon, helped 12-year-old Angelica practice her
pronunciation of a variety of English words, starting with
items in the classroom, such as “desk,” “table,” “teacher,”
“blackboard,” “backpack,” and “drawing.”
Chandre Mells, 20, a junior business major from Hinesville, takes
a selfie after helping members of a Dominican family with their
English skills. Tutoring took place in schools and in private
homes. “I thought this would be a great chance to work and
travel in another country,” Mells said.