Over the course of two weeks in the summer, a group of Loyola Marymount University students stepped into the heart of South Africa’s complex history. As part of the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action (CSA) Alternative Breaks (AB) program, they traveled to Johannesburg and Cape Town to explore the long-lasting impacts of apartheid.
Framed around the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – No Poverty, Good Health and Well-Being, and Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – this experience challenged students to grapple with the real-world consequences of injustice and to reflect on what it means to be an active, engaged global citizen. “I didn’t realize how similar South Africa is to the United States,” said D’Anthony Yates ’27, a biology major from L.A. “Even though we’re on the opposite sides of the world, we’re very similar to one another. We like the same things, we do the same things, we study the same things. That was really cool to see.”
The group met with activists and historians, visited historic sites such as Constitution Hill, Robben Island, and District Six, a neighborhood directly impacted by the policies of racial segregation. They saw how structural racism has left behind deeply entrenched poverty, health disparities, and a need for continued reconciliation. For many students, the trip brought new clarity to how systemic injustice functions, not just in South Africa, but everywhere.
“After apartheid ended things weren’t just all better,” said Alyssa Gutierrez ’26, a psychology major from Seal Beach, California. “It’s not necessarily fixed. The white minority still owns most of the land, and they’re living in much nicer areas. The townships, the black areas, are not funded well whatsoever.”
The experience connected students to the Student EXP pillar of becoming a global citizen. Many described their growth not just in knowledge, but in empathy, discernment, and purpose. “You’re engaging in simple living,” said Gutierrez. “You’re not trying to live this high lifestyle. You’re there, you’re learning from people, and you’re communicating with community members.”
Mariah Allen ‘26, a political science and African American studies double major with a minor in peace and justice studies, served as a student leader on the AB trip and was surprised by how the negative impact of apartheid particularly on the economic impacts continues to this day. “It’s particularly hard for young indigenous people to get jobs and where the majority of wealth is held,” said Allen. “I had thought about it, but in terms of the institutional barriers that still exist despite having those that transfer of power, despite overthrowing apartheid, there still is a deep and largely felt inequality economically was something I didn’t quite realize coming in.”
For Allen, the most memorable part of the trip was being in community, and specifically meeting and learning from a community partner named, Molefi. “He shared how and where they grew up and where he came from for his spirituality and where he learned about community organizing,” said Allen. “He even taught me a particular song he would sing when he was younger. Being able to meet that group and see how they are continuing to pour into the youth in that community, and give them resources with after school programs, food, and thinking about their purpose. It helped me feel very grounded during the trip.”
When asked to sum up the experience in one word, responses ranged from “eye-opening,” “life-changing,” and “transformational.” “This is an experience that you do not want to miss,” said Yates. “I feel like this is one of the greatest opportunities at LMU. It was something that I truly enjoyed, and looking back, I would definitely do it again or do another one.”
Interested in going on an AB immersion? During the 2025-26 academic year CSA is hosting seven AB immersions below. This year’s immersions include a mix of domestic locations and international locations. Students (undergraduate and graduate) are encouraged to learn more here, by stopping by CSA’s table at Wellness Wednesday, or attending an info session:
- AB at Wellness Wednesday: Sept. 10, Alumni Mall, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
- Information Session: Sept. 11, Malone 306, from 7-8 p.m.
- AB at Wellness Wednesday: Sept. 17, Alumni Mall, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
- Information Session: Sept. 17, Malone 112, from 7-8 p.m.
Dec. 12-20, 2025 – AB Puerto Rico
Participants will get to explore the food system in Puerto Rico and learn from hands-on experiences how community-based initiatives in Puerto Rico are pioneering the road to reaching food sovereignty. Together with locals, partner agroecological farms and community members, participants will engage in service-learning projects such as farm rehabilitation, organic food production, agroforestry conservation, and rainwater management. Participants will not only learn sustainability techniques from hands-on experience but also understand what it means to be of service, and how to invoke a service mindset in their everyday lives.
Jan. 2-10, 2026 – AB El Salvador
Participants will get to engage in conversations with speakers, grassroots organization leaders, rural community members, and youth groups. Participants will learn about and humanize immigration and its root causes as well as economic public policies that impact people’s livelihood. Additionally, participants will learn about economic and social inequalities, women’s rights, human rights, historic memory, the civil war and post-era, and nonviolence and its importance in how one carries out dialogues and actions about issues affecting our communities.
Feb. 27-March 7, 2026 – AB Belize
Participants will get to focus on education justice and its impact on marginalized communities. Taking note from Jesuit tradition through work with the Jesuit college in Belize City, students will learn how to center social justice through their educational experience, such as teaching “the whole person.” This AB will also help participants cultivate a knowledge of education through the Jesuit mission of advancing faith through the promotion of justice.
Feb. 27-March 7, 2026 – AB Costa Rica
Participants will learn about the reality of immigration policies and refugees, racial inequity and discrimination, as well as environmental degradation and its effect on impoverished populations. By considering how these issues intersect, participants will be able to form a deeper understanding of Costa Rican history and culture and will be prompted to reflect on the reality of these issues in the U.S. as well.
Feb. 27-March 7, 2026 – AB Domestic TBD
Participants will focus on hands-on exploration of fast fashion and sustainable textile manufacturing in North Carolina. Participants will take factory tours, join workshops, and hold discussions with industry professionals in a way that supports insights on circularity and worker-owned enterprises. Participants will leave this program with a better understanding of value chains and community-centered production.
Feb. 27-March 7, 2026 – AB Virginia
Participants will visit Richmond, Virginia, which was once the capital of the Confederacy, and learn about its enduring legacy of segregation that is physically woven into its infrastructure (e.g., plantation systems and education policies). Participants will explore the powerful intersection of African American history in Richmond, from slave trade to tobacco production, and the resilience of its Indigenous communities through a one-of-a-kind experience that connects local and global (glocal) perspectives on social justice, ecology, and community action. Throughout the program, participants will also learn about the state of Virginia’s work in fostering regional integration and empowering the leadership of Indigenous, Black, and Brown voices. Through hands-on projects and conversations with community leaders, this immersive journey will challenge participants’ perspectives, inspire advocacy, and equip participants to make a lasting impact in your community and beyond.
May 17-June 1, 2026 – AB Namibia
Participants will get an inside glimpse into Namibia’s legacies of apartheid, which is a white supremacist system in which black citizens were forcefully removed from their homes, restricted and confined within tribal homelands according to their ethnicity, while whites occupied towns and cities and controlled the resources. Although apartheid officially ended in the early 1990s, the impacts of the oppressive system remain and impact many sectors of society. Participants will also delve into the liberation struggle by learning how everyday people worked to overturn and dismantle racial segregation and minority rule. Participants will hear stories from the local people, community experts and organizations that have been and continue to be committed to improving and strengthening their communities and their countries. Participants will also be invited to consider how citizens in the U.S. have struggled for equal rights and liberation from oppressive systems as well as compare and contrast differences and similarities among the two nations.