Scholarships are frequently a simple award of some sort, bequeathed to students with the potential to excel.

Some scholarships reward and promote academic excellence alone, but there are others, like Saint Louis University’s Mev Puleo scholarship, that reward and promote a multi-faceted approach of not just academics, but solidarity as well.

The Mev Puleo scholarship is a full cultural immersion-experiential learning, in other words.

This holistic approach honors the late Mev Puleo, a 1985 B.A. graduate of SLU.

She lived her life for social change, using photos and interviews to document and raise awareness of the struggles of people in Haiti, Brazil, El Salvador and Mexico.

Andrea Heyse, Christina Gebel, Christine Keogh and Rachel McCullagh are this year’s Mev Puleo scholars.

They will travel abroad to Managua, Nicaragua, this summer.

In order to be in the program, they needed to be studying theology studies, have a grasp of the Spanish language and have a passionate commitment to social justice.

The gravity of the trip has commanded that many preparations be made.

“All four of us have been making preparations for this trip, including informing ourselves, getting shots and learning Spanish,” said McCullagh.

“We’ve been reading books about the history of the economic and political situations in Nicaragua, as well as books on solidarity,” added Keogh.

The immersion experience lasts two months during the summer.

The SLU activists, armed with the intellectual tools of theology and Spanish, will crack the fa?ade and become one with the culture.

Upon their return, they will present reports to theology teachers and classes.

They hope their presentations will attach a resonant human element to what may have previously been an unimaginable reality.

“We want to open the eyes of other students and faculty to what we will have experienced, so that we can all walk a little closer in solidarity with the Nicaraguan people and all other people from Central America and countries in need,” said Keogh.

But solidarity is not some sort of fleeting moment that the Mev Puleo scholars will only feel during the trip.

Solidarity is a lifelong reflection.

“I hope it is a reflection that never ceases,” said Gebel. “I hope my presentation to the department and students is one brick on a road that reaches far into the future. In that regard, I hope that my reflection on Nicaragua will never end, and I hope I am able to share where I am on that journey upon my return.”

Throughout the experience, the students will live with host families, do volunteer work, take classes and meet a number of leaders among the Nicaraguan society.

The goal of this immersion experience is to further nourish and deepen the students’ theological understanding.

They hope that this experience will mark the beginning of a life informed of solidarity and with understanding.

The students say it’s an exercise in breaking through the walls that divide people of varying backgrounds so that we can all understand and appreciate the one thing we live for-life.