NASHVILLE, Tenn. — People bring back many things from a week of travel: souvenirs, sunburn, some good stories to tell. For student-athletes fresh off another year balancing world-class academics and SEC athletics, there would be nothing wrong with looking forward to little more out of a trip than lazy days by the pool or old-school sightseeing.
But for 16 Vanderbilt student-athletes, a weeklong immersion trip to Guatemala in May wasn’t about unwinding at the end of the year. Far from familiar campus paths they followed to class or practice, they walked with locals on daily treks to the farm fields that sustained communities. They spoke with schoolchildren and watched medical professionals and volunteers fight malnutrition in a low-resource community. While they returned with photos and stories (and a few sunburns), the perspective they gained will last longest of all.
“I know that in my life, in whatever kind of career path I choose or wherever I end up, this is something that really brings me joy,” swimmer Jenna Ravarino said of the experience. “I want to make sure that I continue to do this throughout my life, taking that extra second to step away from my world and experience and give back to other people. That’s something that changed my perspective on a lot of things and instilled a different level of gratitude that I didn’t realize I could have.”
Ingram Center in Action
The trip was organized through collaboration between the Ingram Center for Student-Athlete Success and Avery Dickins de Giron, executive director of the Center for Latin American Studies, and Mario Avila of the Owen Graduate School of Management. Working with the Office of Immersion, the Ingram Center ensured that students could apply the week toward their immersion requirement if they wanted. Student-athletes from six teams and a variety of classes and majors participated, with all travel costs covered, and they chose among itineraries that offered either a social impact and sustainability or health care focus. The travel party also included three faculty members and four staff members from Athletics and Housing, with the Ingram Center’s Katelen Watkins, assistant director for student-athlete development, quarterbacking the planning and execution.
The social impact track worked closely with Soles4Souls, a Nashville-based nonprofit and longtime community partner that distributes shoes and clothes to those in need around the world. Student-athletes also had the opportunity to learn from and work with Hiba Baroud, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Littlejohn Dean’s Faculty Fellow, on several sustainability projects.
Partnering with Shelza Rivas, assistant professor of nursing and director of global partnerships for the Vanderbilt School of Nursing, and Manola McCain, assistant professor of nursing, student-athletes on the health care track spent the week immersed in the communities of Guatemala’s western highlands. They worked closely with Primeros Pasos, a Vanderbilt-affiliated not-for-profit primary care clinic with special emphasis on nutrition and health care for children and mothers, while also learning about the needs of the greater community.
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Seizing the Opportunity
Newly arrived from Furman as a second semester graduate transfer, football student-athlete Julian Ashby was still learning his way around Nashville when he first read the email from the Ingram Center about summer travel possibilities. A physics graduate and three-year starting long snapper at Furman, Ashby chose Vanderbilt because it offered some of everything—the opportunity to play SEC football this fall while taking the next step academically through the master’s program in mechanical engineering. A trip to Guatemala, even if not a typical part of the offseason routine, felt like more of Vanderbilt being Vanderbilt.
“My thought process was I’ve only got one year to play football here, so I just really wanted to take advantage of any kind of cool opportunities offered,” Ashby said.
For many student-athletes, the handful of weeks between the end of the spring semester and the start of preseason or fall workouts are one of the only times when it’s feasible to immerse themselves in something beyond their two-pronged campus routine.
In fact, some participants were still pulling double duty while on the trip. A three-time All-American who helped Vanderbilt win a national championship in 2023, bowler Paige Peters heard about Guatemala from teammates who went on previous trips. She wanted to experience it herself, even if that meant that when others rose before dawn to fit in an extra workout, she got up to study and complete homework for two chemistry classes and then wrestled intermittent Wi-Fi as buses bounced across rural roads.
“During the school year, it definitely would have been a lot more difficult,” Peters said. “I’m glad it was right at the end, and I’m only taking two classes.”
After meeting on campus in the predawn hours of May 11, the travel party flew from Nashville to Miami and on to Guatemala City. A bus then took all involved to Antigua, a small city about an hour west of the capital. The next morning, the two groups jointly toured nearby Mayan ruins before going their separate ways for the rest of the week.
Much of it left a lasting impression, not the least a traditional Guatemalan homecooked meal prepared by the mother of a Primeros Pasos staff member. Ashby and Peters were particularly moved by their experiences over several days going out into the community, helping them plant crops that would provide much of their diet. Merely getting to the land meant walking as much as a mile or two uphill from where the locals lived.
