My experience as both a participant and a student leader of the SMU Civil Rights Pilgrimage has been nothing short of life changing. When I enrolled in Dr. Simon’s class during the Spring of 2015, I was apprehensive about missing my Spring Break. However, over the course of the semester, I immersed myself in the history we were learning and began to build meaningful relationships with my classmates as a result of the discussions we were having. By the time it was time to leave for the pilgrimage, I was ready to visit the places where the events I was studying took place. I was ready to walk where individuals like Dr. King, John Lewis, Rosa Parks, and Reverend Gretz had walked. The class made the history real to me, because I realized that college students just like me changed our nation for the better.
The pilgrimage was an experience unlike any other. The history that was preserved in the places we visited was impossible to fully grasp in a classroom setting alone. 2015 marked the 50th anniversary of the March for Voting Rights in Selma, Alabama. I and my fellow pilgrims had the privilege to walk along the same route that marchers had taken half a century before. Although, at times it was chilling, like standing in the Lorraine Motel balcony where Dr. King was murdered, the trip also challenged…show more content… During my first pilgrimage, I was so overwhelmed with my own emotions that I did not get to fully appreciate the experiences of my fellow pilgrims. As a student leader, a large part of my role involved developing personal reflection exercises for the students on the trip. It was so moving getting to see how the pilgrimage affected everyone in a unique way. Interestingly, however, almost everyone that went on the pilgrimage said that they were inspired to make the world a better place, starting with SMU and the communities that they grew up
