Brenna Kueter reflects on H.O.P.E. Maine

Photo courtesy of the Campus Ministry Facebook Page

By Stephanie Dyer and Justine Long

COVD-19 has stopped many aspects of life, such as Stonehill’s study abroad programs, spring break trips, and planned events throughout the semester, however, some domestic H.O.P.E. trips continued as planned. Students were grateful to have the opportunity to serve others at such a difficult time.

Junior Brenna Kueter went on the H.O.P.E. Maine immersion with seven other individuals from the Stonehill community. The group included Kueter, two other student participants, a student leader, a staff leader, and two site partners who work with the International Partners in Mission.

Kueter took part in this immersion because she wanted to learn more about indigenous communities in our own country. “My past education on this social justice topic was embarrassingly lacking. As a Political Science and Criminology major I am interested in topics such as marginalized population and human rights, and I think it is important to recognize that native peoples are one of the most overlooked and systematically oppressed groups in American history,” Kueter said.

Organized by Campus Ministry, Stonehill’s H.O.P.E. program stands for: Honoring our neighbor, Organizing for justice, Practicing peace, and Encountering God.

The program is led by Director MaryAnne Davey who is the assistant director of Campus Ministry, the assistant campus minister, along with one or two student leaders for each trip, and employees/alumni leaders.

During their trip, students immerse themselves by learning about current social justice issues that pertain to the community they are visiting.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., many were concerned that the H.O.P.E. programs would not be able to occur. Davey, who manages all of the H.O.P.E. trips, had concerns about letting the immersions travel according to Kueter. Since Kueter’s particular immersion did not pose as high of a risk as the other trips, which require travel through major airports or to areas which had confirmed cases at the time, Kueter was still able to travel to Maine.

“The indigenous communities we were welcomed into were small and secluded, and at the time of our departure, Maine had no cases of the coronavirus, so I don't believe there was a need to altogether cancel our immersion. We were given the option to withdraw from the immersion, but I felt that the risk of contracting the virus was low and the benefits of my experience in Maine would outweigh any risk.”

Everyone on the trip was careful to look after their own health and avoided physical contact with the people they encountered.

“We were most concerned about staying healthy on the way back to Stonehill, so we took extra precautions such as eating our lunch in the car rather than in a public restaurant,” Kueter said. Kueter said she enjoyed every part of the immersion and educating herself on the struggles between Native peoples and the government over land and water rights and how this has led to years of intergenerational trauma. Because of this Kueter said that it is hard to pick a favorite moment from the immersion but what was most powerful was realizing how willing the Wabanaki people, specifically individuals from the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Nations, were in sharing their stories and experiences.

“They spoke of their experiences with injustice and oppression, which my government and ancestors played a primary role in creating, yet they were still willing to educate us on their culture and traditions and help us learn how to be more effective allies. Recognizing that these people have gone through immense suffering and were still willing to talk with the descendants of those who caused it was a very powerful moment for me. I think my student leader Joanna summed it up perfectly: ‘my faith in humanity has been destroyed and rebuilt at the same time,’” Kueter said.