Employee and Alumni H.O.P.E. Trip Advisor Applications

Trip Advisor Role Description

• Trip Advisors are very influential throughout the experience
• Often ‘behind the scenes’, quietly supporting and challenging the Student Leaders and the participants
• The H.O.P.E. experience is mostly student-facilitated, with support, as needed, from Trip Advisors.
• Trip Advisors serve as the responsible adult on the trip should any emergencies or unexpected situations should arise (you will receive training about emergency protocols.)
• To be eligible to be a trip advisor you must be an employee of the college OR have attended at least one H.O.P.E. Service Immersion experience prior.
• Engage fully with students as part of the team

Examples of Active Support:

• Share insight from a faith perspective, to complement students’ own exploration of faith
• Model mature, respectful and honest sharing during reflections and social analysis
• Work with Student Leaders to ensure effective management of meetings and reflection 
• Help Student Leaders negotiate conflicts 
• Working one-on-one with participants who struggle to fit in with the team, and/or who struggle with the ideas being presented
• Support students through illness and other difficult realities that are encountered.
• Conversation partner with students upon return as they integrate their experience into their lives
• Experience and ability of the Student Leaders and the chemistry of the team will determine the role of the employee
• Be present; be a member of the group and be involved

Employee Leaders are Expected to:

• Engage with key opportunities and challenges that need active support and guidance
• Meet with Student Leaders and co-Employee Leader to discuss the vision of the program, each person’s hopes, fears, expectations, interpretation of each other’s roles, communication and feedback methods, etc.
• Check-in with Student Leaders, as needed, to support and challenge.
• Attend weekly H.O.P.E. Meetings either in person or virtually.
• Attend all Employee Leader Training Sessions (in person preferred).
• Attend the Commissioning Mass.
• Attend the trip in it’s entirety unless a personal emergency should arise.
• Be in communication with the H.O.P.E. Director regarding problems or issues that arise and require special attention.
• Evaluate the program and process with the H.O.P.E. Director both before and after the immersion.

Immersion Responsibilities:

• Participate actively, as much as possible, in all of the activities and work projects.
• Participate actively in reflection sessions, offer insight gleaned from own experiences, and pose thought-provoking questions for the group.
• Assure H.O.P.E. and college policies are followed.
• Provide leadership and support in the event of an emergency (Employee leaders have the “final say” when issues of safety arise).
• Meet each day with the leadership team to check in on what is going well and where improvements may be made, in addition to addressing the schedule for the day.

The Role of the Student Leader:

The student leaders are responsible for coordinating all aspects of the immersion experience:

• Student leaders will be equipped and ready to lead daily reflections.
• Student leaders should help the host community coordinate the group(s) and work projects.
• Student leaders are available to help individual students process the experience.
• Student leaders are responsible for making sure that all members abide by H.O.P.E. policies.