Taking advantage of the upcoming fall break, Saint Mary's Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership is sponsoring a six-day trip for faculty, staff, students and Michiana-area women leaders to visit three social change projects in Ohio and Tennessee.

The trip is phase two of the Catalyst Project, a yearlong experiment designed to link Saint Mary's women with women in the community. The first phase of the project took place Sept. 26 in a workshop Juanita Campos, who introduced the Participatory Learning in Action method of research, evaluation and planning. Participants are supposed to apply principles of PLA on the trip.

Thirty-three women from various backgrounds were chosen to participate on the outing from Saturday to Oct. 25. Of the 33, two are Saint Mary's faculty members, and seven are Saint Mary's students.

For three days, CWIL participants will be joined by Sister Linda Kors, director of Saint Mary's volunteer resource center, and nine students bound for a service project in Appalachia.

"I think student participation is really critical," said Bonnie Bazata, CWIL director of community connections. "Not only will they gain a lot from the trip by being in the company of strong community women leaders, but they also will have much to contribute."

The first project destination is Grailville, a women's spiritual retreat center in Loveland, Ohio. Grailville prides itself on offering alternative education and leadership training for women as they adapt to a changing world. Its primarily focus is on women's empowerment, spirituality and the environment.

Following Grailville, participants will travel south to Cincinnati and visit Women Developing Communities. WDC is an organization of women diverse in age, race, income and background dedicated to women's economic independence and self-esteem. The organization's main function is to provide affordable housing for people with low incomes. Today, WDC has grown into three multi-million dollar innovative housing projects.

The final destination is the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tenn. The center was founded in 1932 and has been a key training center for groups focused on social equality and social justice issues. Among those trained at the Highlander Center were civil rights organizers Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

Women from each of the projects will meet with participants to share their personal journeys. A series of workshops and conversation-settings will be held at each location, allowing leaders to aid participants with their plans for social change. Each participant will also assume one of four leadership roles throughout the trip to evenly disperse responsibilities and the overall experience.

"I'm not going to define what this trip will do for [or] to me because I want to embrace it for all it has to offer, but I will hope for this: to come back with a greater appreciation for everyone in the Saint Mary's community," said sophomore Jennifer Hernandez. "More importantly, to show the Saint Mary's community why they should have a greater appreciation for the community within and around them."

Regardless of what participants individually hope to gain from the experience, the Catalyst Project aims to ignite learning and recognition of community leaders working toward long-term solutions for prevalent social problems today.

For more information regarding the locations to be visited or the Catalyst Project itself, contact CWIL's office at 284-4058.

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