By Aidan McConnell ’26
I most enjoyed connecting this trip to what I want to do in my life and career. I’m a biology major with plans for medical school and a career that’s service based. Immersing yourself in a culture gives you a better understanding of people who live much differently than what your version of normal is. Dr. Rogers mentioned that what we saw in the Dominican Republic is how 90% of the world lives, so getting to see their “normal” as an outsider was eye opening. Between working with the kids and obviously the baseball, I really loved it.
We found out in the middle of last season that we would have this immersion experience and everyone was in shock. I thought, “Oh my, we’re going to the D.R.” This is a place where baseball is born and bred. As it got closer, I realized that we were going to experience a lot of different things—service, culture, and education—not just baseball.
The baseball was amazing. Dominicans love this game. This is what they live for. But it’s organized differently. They have all these different town teams. The last team we played was current and former minor leaguers, all kinds of pros. You can feel their passion for the game. They were excited to play against us. There was just a touch of magic in those games.
I’m not a history major, but I do love learning about the artifacts, all the little nooks and crannies of something, and the history behind it. Obviously, visiting the sugar mill drove home the fact that sugar was a major economic pillar in their economy back in the 1600s. It was fascinating to experience first-hand, especially with some of the ties to the U.S., including slavery. It was a very eye-opening experience.
The most prominent thing I took away from the trip was the service. I love that feeling of fulfillment, which all started with the painting of the house. It was hot and tropical, but you reminded yourself that you’re doing something for someone else. Working with the kids as well, passing out candy, and making a connection was something special. That was the most surprisingly good thing on the trip for me. Seeing how happy they were was amazing.
This experience shows me the things I need to work on, especially as a competitor. I get a lot of inspiration from watching these guys who are better than me. “Average” in the D.R. is far above the average we see in a regular season. It lights a fire in you because you want to strive to be that good. It’s different than watching a professional game on TV. It’s live, your team vs. theirs. When I was sitting behind home plate charting the pitching velocity, every guy we faced was in the upper 80s to 90s. It gives you something to strive for, to be that good. Everything about the sport is so ingrained there. They don’t think. It’s all second nature to them.
Being in the Dominican Republic definitely shows that all areas of the world do not have the same levels of health care. I don’t know where medicine will take me, and I don’t know what resources will be available, but I now have a bit more of an understanding of this culture, and maybe that can help me better assess some of the issues when they come up. It was a blessing to make this trip, to have these experiences, and to receive the kind of support for it all to be possible. For my first time out of the country, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
