Ambar Cheuveret ’26 said her upcoming SEND trip to the Dominican Republic, the island her family emigrated from to Lawrence, Mass., almost feels like a homecoming.
“I know we’re going to be talking with a lot of women in need there,” she said of the trip. “I’m excited to talk to people in DR that have different lifestyles and hear their experiences in a different part of the world. I want to be able to make connections and hear others stories with empathy and compassion and not with a savior mindset. Most questions will lean towards, ‘How do I help?’ and, ‘What can I do?'”
Cheuveret already has two SEND trips under her belt – the first took place last year in San Diego, where Merrimack College students learned about immigration and worked to benefit the city’s Mexican-American and Chicano community.
“You never know what kind of conversations you’re going to have,” she said. “There’s always something to be learned from different situations and backgrounds.”
The second, held this past January, was in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. Merrimack students worked alongside the Los Angeles Mission and Guadalupe Homeless Project assisting unhoused people on Skid Row.
“We visited Homeboy Industries, which is the largest gang rehabilitation center, and learned about the many people that are striving towards a better life and leaving behind the generational trauma,” Cheuveret said. “We spoke to this individual that started writing poetry and making music as one of his way to reflect. They also mentioned having a feminism class which I thought was a good class that everyone should take in their life.”
Cheuveret was first introduced to SEND, Merrimack College’s alternative spring break program focused on community engagement and service, through her work with the Unity House. As a freshman, she said the organization offered her a feeling of purpose and comfort on campus.
“I struggled with culture shock coming from Lawrence,” she explained. “I would go to my classes and then right to my room – it was a vicious cycle. After attending one of the Unity House’s events, I realized I had to do something with my life, get out there, be comfortable with the uncomfortable and meet new people.”
Cheuveret now serves as a lead student coordinator for the Unity House. And, through her role as an orientation leader, she tells incoming freshmen about all the services the Unity House offers.
“Everyone was very welcoming and I fell in love with it,” she said. “I believe that college is not just about going to classes. You have to have some extracurriculars to build up those connections because you never know who you will meet.”
Cheuveret is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a double concentration in finance and management. She said she’s particularly keen on the math and numbers side of business and she also loves networking with other like-minded people.
“I don’t know yet what I want to do as a career,” Cheuveret explained, “but opening my own business or marketing sounds fun. I’ve learned it’s a process to find what career path I want to go down. I’m focusing on what I enjoy doing and what classes I like to attend – that’s helping me narrow it down.”
