On the surface, Caretta, W. Va.; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina have little in common.

However, there is one thing that ties them together: Keuka College.

This summer, those three locations will be visited by Keuka College students conducting Field Periods. All received Spirtual Exploration Field Period Scholarships to help defray expenses.

Spiritual Exploration Field Periods involve work or service in churches, missions, hospitals, hospices, and the like. They may also involve aiding and assisting churches or religious organizations in providing aid to needy individuals and groups, either in this country or overseas.

The scholarship is funded by a $5,000 Institutional Renewal Grant from The Rhodes Consultation on the Future of the Church-Related College.

Lisa Marciniak, a junior social work major, will travel to Caretta, W.Va., with a group from St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Hamburg. Caretta is located in McDowell County, which has the fifth highest child poverty rate in America and the highest adult illiteracy rate in West Virginia.

“My main work load will consist of building homes and repairing others in need,” said Marciniak. “Additionally, I will be able to spend time with the people of the Caretta Community Center and Big Creek People in Action Inc. (BCPIA). I hope to learn how and what they practice in their faith.”

Marciniak believes “that by visiting the people in this area I will learn clear methods of how to reach out to others, which I can bring with me wherever I am called to a new set of people and community.”

BCPIA was founded in 1990 by the citizens of McDowell County. The non-profit organization serves the community “in the realm of education and literacy, leadership development, volunteer service, service learning, arts and culture, housing, recreation, and collaborative partnerships.”

Stacy Gulick, a freshman occupational sciences major, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) nearly three years ago. She will spend a week in Salt Lake City, Utah where she hopes to “visit many historical sites and attend a service in the famous Salt Lake City Temple.

“I would like to become more secure with my religion as part of my identity and learn to be proud of that,” she added. “By studying church history, immersing myself in Temple work, and visiting a city where Mormons are the majority, not the minority, I hope to base my daily actions more on my spiritual beliefs. I am eager to be surrounded by so many people who share my beliefs and codes of conduct.”

She described her Field Period as “a visit to the Holy Land. My journal of this experience, the spiritual pilgrimages of the first member of the family to join the church, is likely to become a family document read by my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. [It will be a] legacy for future generations.”

Since several “historically and spiritually significant” Mormon sites are within a few hours drive of Penn Yan, she plans “to tour as many as possible in order to learn more about the history of the church and the early leaders.” She will also research her family history.

Aaron Harris, a sophomore visual and verbal arts major, is headed to Medjugorje, a hamlet in Bosnia-Herzegovina where, since 1981, the Virgin Mary has reportedly been appearing and giving messages to the world.

“Nearly every aspect of my trip to Medjugorje will be new and enlightening: the international travel, the cultural immersion, the stay in a communal pilgrimage house, and the time devoted to spiritual contemplation and discussion with people seeking a similar experience,” said Harris. “In addition, as a visual and verbal art major, I am especially interested in the history, art, and architecture that I will be able to observe and study.”

Harris will climb Apparition Hill, visit the site of the first apparition and a Franciscan monastery, and meet with residents of Medjugorje.

“I hope to enter this exploration with a mind of naïve curiosity, gleaning what I can and compiling an experience uniquely my own—one that I will later reflect on and share with others, especially my two daughters,” said Harris.