By Tiffany Palapo & Grace Magliocco
Junior Trips are a renowned part of the LREI High School curriculum, as they offer students a chance to learn beyond the classroom. These trips are designed to let students learn more about an issue by going directly to the source. A week long social justice based trip exploring new environments, embracing the outdoors, and engaging in new communities.
During the first 3 days of the school year, when ninth-grade students are away at Ramapo, Juniors spend their time in workshops planning for their upcoming trips. They are walked through the process of brainstorming potential research topics by reading articles, watching videos, and learning about important issues in the country. After the initial study, students pitch their ideas to their classmates, at the end of the 3 days, the entire class votes and narrows down the list of topics to 6-9. Beginning to group people, Kara and Manjula send out a survey asking the students to rank their top 5 choices; each person is guaranteed one of their top 3 and at least one friend per group. After learning all of this, we asked Kara for a representative for each group to interview so we could learn more about the Junior Trips of 2025.
First, we spoke to Iz Oliver, a member of the Gun Violence and Community Intervention group. The other Juniors in the group are: Adrian C, Angus C, Darin K, Iz O, Linus B, Lucas S, Nazir P, Nico M, Secret S, Theo M, and Tomàs Y. Their location choices were: Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Jacksonville, their final decision was Baltimore. Their teacher chaperones are Joon Yoo and Dana Mackey. While it is too early in the year to know what the group’s itinerary will look like, Iz tells us that she hopes to visit community violence disruptor programs.
The next group we learned about was the Education and Equality group with Juwon Filani. The group consists of: Adela O, Alex W, Arlo S, Ayelet K, Clyde C, Juwon F, Mars M, Maya C, Nio V, Oliver D, Seven J, and Simone B. Out of Georgia, Florida, and New Mexico, the group landed on New Mexico as their place to visit. The teachers chosen to accompany this group were Allison Isbell and Michel. The group’s main goal is to visit schools, and organizations and meet up with school boards/PTA. Juwon felt connected to this topic because of her personal experience with attending a similar school. She believes in the value and importance of accessible education. Less fortunate communities have fewer resources and Juwon wants to advocate for them to have enough resources to teach a class.
The third group representative we met with was Hanako Gibersztajn in the Indigenous Rights and Land group. Hanako’s group members are: Asher G, Cat M, Fred W, Hazel O, Ishika T, Jack W, Lucy F, Nadia M, and Sam C. The group will be visiting Rapid City, South Dakota their other choices were Oklahoma (City and/or Tulsa) and Minnesota. Their teacher chaperones are Amanda Finigan and Kara Luce. Hanako shares that her group has at least two organizations that they’d like to try and set up a meeting with. Hanoko chose this topic for herself because she deems it an important issue and wants to further her education on it.
The following group representative we interviewed was from the Homeless and Drug Abuse group, Lennan Mihalow. The topic will be studied by her, alongside: Aaron H, Anaïs C, Gabriella H, Jack M, Libi L, Malachi Y, Nate A, Otto W, Sandro G, and Yaylyn N. The group chose from Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle, they will be going to Denver, Colorado. With Manjula Nair and Ty Beauchamp as their chaperones. The group has specific organizations they’d like to speak to such as the Denver Rescue Mission and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Lennan says she was interested in the topic because of her mother’s friend, who she was close with as a child. She sadly fell into drug abuse and passed from fentanyl.
Next, we met with Stella Hall from the Abortion and Reproductive Rights group. The other members include: Charlie C, Daylin J, Finn M, Giselle M, Harper W, Isabel R, Lucia C, Nina S, Sadie K, Stella H, Stella W, and Ty D. Their location choices were Illinois, Alabama, and Atlanta, and the group will be visiting Atlanta Georgia with Anna Gonzales and Zoe Chaykin. The group plans on visiting a list of organizations including universities and abortion clinics/centers. Stella was interested in this topic because she felt that it was an important issue, especially due to Trump’s pro-life presidency. She acknowledges that NYC can sometimes be a bubble especially when going to a liberal arts school. Stella hopes to explore and learn about experiences outside that bubble.
Following Stella, we spoke with Joe about the Climate Change and Natural Disaster group. His fellow group members are Allie S, Caleb H, Hudson M, Lucy E, Mack B, Seamus D, Teddy G, Teo U, and Tristan G. They had the option of going to Los Angeles, New Orleans, or Arizona. They ended up choosing New Orleans, and their chaperones are Brian McCabe and Eliza Zygmuntowicz. Joe shared his interests in renewable/clean energy and what investing in that looks like for it to be successful. The Climate Change and Natural Disaster group members plan on visiting victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and learning about how the city failed to assist them in the aftermath.
Our final interviewee was Talulah from the Mass Incarceration and Rights for Incarcerated People group. The members of the group include herself, Casey V, Ciela L, Earl C, Henry R, Leo T, Livvy B, Romy K, Sonia SF, Tanvi P, and Willa H. They had the destination options of Denver, New Orleans, Houston, and Chicago, their final location being New Orleans. The chaperones attending are Jonathan Segal and Chris Kline. Tahlulah shared that the group plans on visiting the Innocence Project while on their trip, an organization that specializes in helping wrongfully convicted people get out and share their true stories. Tahlulah is inspired by the work her aunt does at this organization and wants to deepen her connection to the topic.
The Juniors have been working incredibly hard since the first day of school in preparation for these trips, dedicating time for research, collaboration, and thoughtful planning. Once they return with fresh perspectives and newfound skills the teachers have reflection activities planned along with final touches for their parent presentations. These inspired Juniors are ready to take on these in-depth projects and carry on the LREI tradition.