South Dakota Service Immersion

For some 15 years, a contingent of Jesuit students has traveled to South Dakota each summer to serve the Lakota people, assisting the St. Francis Mission (sfmission.org) in its service of the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Once again this June, nine rising seniors – Rocco Falcon, Julian Forrester, Caden Franz, Gabriel Garcia, Anthony Odio, Jesse Planz, Max Purvis, Davis Swiger, and Will Thomas – along with chaperones Andy Wood ’92 and Henry Ibanez ’86, following a weekend of sightseeing (including Mount Rushmore and the Badlands region) operated a Vacation Bible School for the Lakota children of the reservation, while also restoring a local chapel and engaging in other service projects. About 20,000 Lakota live on the reservation, and roughly 8,000 identify as Catholics, but church attendance is very low and the reservation is plagued by poverty and addiction. The students gave of themselves in the tradition of their Jesuit brothers for 15 years, making an impact on the reservation as ‘Men for Others.’ Their experience was chronicled from June 7-14 on the @tigerpilgrims account on Instagram with daily photo-filled posts. Also, one of the students, Odio, wrote the heartfelt story below about his transformational experience in South Dakota.

The South Dakota Mission Trip 2025
by Anthony Odio ’26

The Jesuit mission trip to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota was one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. It showed me firsthand just how grateful I should be for my life here in Tampa, and gave me an opportunity to serve others in need.

Before the trip, I was familiar with the other nine Jesuit students only on the most basic level. I knew their names and their faces, but not much more. During the trip, however, we became closer than I would have ever imagined. Through conversations with Rocco Falcon in the back of Mr. Ibanez’s minivan, discussions that ranged from spirited debates over the NBA best player of all time to deep conversations about our faith, or creating a rice & beef dinner with Jesse Planz and Julian Forrester, I grew very close to every single person on the trip.

During the week, we would spend the morning and early afternoon operating the Mind, Body & Soul Camp, a Vacation Bible School with all of the local children. Every day we separated into groups and engaged in the respective stations. The stations ranged from Bible Adventures, where we would read a Biblical story to the children and discuss its meaning, to Imagination Station, where they had an opportunity to learn hands-on with experiments, such as making fake snow out of baking soda and shaving cream, and experiencing the wonders of the world the Lord made for us. We would eat lunch together and then play for an hour in the field outside. Every day outside with the children was spirited and joyful.

For the remainder of the afternoons, we worked to restore an old chapel that had not been used in 30 years. We repainted the outside with a fresh coat of shiny white paint and removed the thousands upon thousands of dead bugs that littered the floor inside chapel. Making the chapel beautiful again was amazing. That chapel is the house of God and should be respected. I was glad to be a part of the process to return it to its glory.

At night we would gather together to have a small group meeting led by a different small group each night. Some nights were lighthearted while others dug deep into our relationships with others and how we can become better versions of ourselves.

The most impactful part of the week came from talking to the kids during lunch. It was in these conversations where I began to understand how deep-rooted the problem of addiction is for the people of Rosebud. On the very first day, one of the girls was crying before camp began. When I went over to talk to her, she told me she didn’t have any friends. At just 12 years old, every single one of this girl’s friends had started smoking, and she did not want to do that, so she stopped being friends with them. This specific instance shifted my perspective; it was unimaginable to me that she and children her age would have to cope with such thingss. How could 12-year-old kids already be roped into such an addicting and harmful habit? Another time, a different girl told me that when she was a toddler she ate the cannabis that her father had at her house. When the kids saw my shocked expression they just laughed. To them, these things were just a part of day-to-day life and not given a second thought.

This mission trip showed to me just how lucky I am to be surrounded by amazing people, and it built a new appreciation for all that I have in life. It is an experience we all will carry with us moving forward into senior year, college, and adulthood, as we strive to live as 'Men for Others.'