For the People of Jasper

Nestled up in the quiet mountains of north Georgia is the small-town community of Jasper, which is annually transformed for a week by Jesuit High School students.

From June 1-8, 25 Jesuit students embarked on the 8-hour drive for a service immersion mission trip to a town that feels the relentless heat during the summer, and rapid growth of invasive plants throughout the woodland area. At the start of each day students were divided into small groups and dispersed throughout the town to help retired or disabled members in Jasper with various physical projects such as trash pickup, pressure washing, and yardwork - often taking on a year's growth by those invasive plants.

Each member of the mission kept the same goal in mind: to serve and help those in need. L.J. Fishman ’25 reflected on one of the service projects during the week and how it impacted his faith.

“I served a gentlemen on the last day who had served in the army,” Fishman said. “I learned about his service and certain things that happened in his life that led to hundreds of pounds of trash in his yard in need of removal.

“What struck me the most was him saying ‘If you don’t have your faith, then what else do you have?’ This man had so many reasons to let his faith go and yet he remained steadfast in his belief, which inspired me to rekindle my lukewarm faith life at confession later that day.”

The students were led by chaperone Erick Alvarez Gil, a math teacher at Jesuit, who hosted nightly prayer and reflection after each day of service in the community.

“We reminded each other the purpose of our mission, we thanked God for the many blessings of the day, and we helped each other to discover God’s presence actively working in us and through us to reach others,” Alvarez Gil said. “It is incredible to see how hard work done in community and in service of the poor sums up to spiritual growth for the students.”

While staying in the local Catholic Church in Jasper, Our Lady of the Mountains, pastor Fr. Tri John Bosco Ngyuen and service director Matt Moore emphasized the impact that Jesuit has brought to Jasper in 11 years of service. In addition to nightly prayer and reflection, Fr. Ngyuen said three beautiful Masses at Our Lady of the Mountains, emphasizing the service work as a blessing to everyone in the Jasper community.

The trip wrapped up with a day of fun: a trip to the Ocoee River for whitewater rafting and ziplining.

Brady Jude Kiser ’25 reflected on the mission trip and encouraged his classmates to seize the opportunity to serve Jasper next summer.

“When you get there, you get out as much as you put into it,” Kiser said. “You don’t view the work as a burden to yourself, but instead as an opportunity to help somebody else. It is very rewarding for both you and the person you’re serving.”

View below is the full list of students and chaperones who served Jasper this summer, and click here for a photo slideshow from the mission trip.

Students: George Boumalhab ’25, Landon Cannaday ’25, Bronson Carter ’25, L.J. Fishman ’25, Jake Garcia ’25, Aidan Garrity ’25, Brady Jude Kiser ’25, Rohan Mitchell ’25, Nicky Montante ’25, Ryan Morreale ’25, Jack Mortan ’25, Gianni Pastore ’25, Jack Rozance ’25, Rocco Ruffolo ’25, Christian Theobald ’25, Xavier Vance ’25, Anthony Alessi ’26, Austin Blewitt ’26, Bruno Borowiec ’26, Alexander Campbell ’26, Patrick Dineen ’26, Jackson Lossius ’26, Henry Neely ’26, GianLuca Pasquotto ’26, and Jesse Planz ’26.

Chaperones: Erick Alvarez Gil, Corey Perich, and Collin Rivera.