Nicole Hay wasn’t sure what to expect when she decided to go on a civil rights immersion trip through the University of Portland.
The Camas native, who will be senior at UP in the fall, did know she wanted to do something to make a difference in other people’s lives.
“I took a class about social issues in education and we talked about de facto segregation and how it is perpetuated inadvertently,” Hay said. “I’ve always had an interest in history and the South. I thought I had to try this, because I am going to be a teacher and it is important not to perpetuate segregation. I thought a trip like this would give me the most experience.”
Although the 22-day trip began on May 6, the true start was in September, when Hay and 16 others began meeting every Friday afternoon to discuss the civil rights movement and continuing social oppression.
“It was very eye opening,” she said.
The group flew into Birmingham, Ala., to begin the trip. They stayed for several days in Montgomery, Ala., Memphis, Tenn. and Little Rock, Ark. Activities included learning about the origins of the civil rights movement, having dinner with Martin Luther King’s barber, working in a school, visiting the National Civil Rights Museum and Rosa Parks Museum, volunteering in a food bank and building a wheelchair ramp for a women with cerebral palsy. They also toured Heifer International, a nonprofit organization that provides livestock to people living in poverty and shows them how to care for and make a living from the animals.