Category Archives: General

General Postings

An Interesting Travel Day

Community, General, Snapshots
Team members bag getting searched at airport security
Olivia’s candy stash being exposed

Bright and early at the airport for a 4:30 am meeting time. We got our boarding passes and headed for the TSA line, and things got a bit… bumpy from there. Dr. Latham was the only one to get through with no issues. I had to go through a different scanner and have my bag searched. Austin had to have his bag searched. Olivia and Jordan both had their bags pulled and searched as well. Their only find was Olivia’s extensive stash of candy, which of course was clean after they swabbed it and tested it.

After that, things calmed down, thankfully. Our flight from Indianapolis to Dallas was smooth. I got to discuss some of the politics of our work and just general chit-chat with Dr. Latham, while Austin and Jordan slept and Olivia wished she was asleep. We got to sit in the exit rows with extra leg room on both flights. From Dallas to San Antonio, we got to meet an amazing flight attendant, Jess. He was so kind and gave us the scoop on some lesser known perks of flying. We had a great time with him, and I honestly hope he is our flight attendant on the way back. It was a unique seating situation to say the least, but I’d be lying if I said he didn’t sway me to considering flight attendant as a career.

Photo of Jess our flight attendant
Jess, our flight attendant, sat directly in front of and facing us
Photo of tacos from Torchy's
My Torchy’s Meal

Once we arrived in San Antonio, we got to our new rental van (name tbd) and set off for Torchy’s Tacos. I have heard stories on stories about how good their food is, so I was happy to finally put it to the test. I got the tipsy chick and the mofaux and yalllllllllllllllllll (southern for oh my goodness) it was SO good. Everyone cleared their plates, which if you know some of us personally, you know how big of a deal that is.

After our meal, we left for Falfurrias. Shotgun always stays awake with Dr. Latham, so as we drove, we listened to the new Texas playlist and chatted. The Texas scenery changed from downtown to ranches, cacti, and cows. Some of us nodded off, but the drive went by quickly! Starting to see the same environment I experienced in January made it all feel real again, and I am so ready to get to work tomorrow.

We checked into our hotel, rested for a bit while watching Spongebob, ran to the grocery store for essentials, and then headed to the county cemetery. Dr. Latham took us on a tour of where our team has worked in the past. To learn that they have uncovered over 120 unidentified migrants over about four different years was shocking. In areas that just look like small, open spaces. Latin cultures honor their passed family members, and that was shown immensely in the care taken by family members to the resting places of their loved ones. It emphasized to me the importance of getting these unidentified individuals back to their loved ones.

Team members Sacred Heart Cemetery
Dr. Latham teaching us about the cemetery
Decorated headstones at Sacred Heart Cemetery
Beautiful Cemetery plots
Photo of Sacred Heart Cemetery
County Cemetery

As our team learned more, a familiar face met us there. It was so good to see Deputy Don White again. It feels like we were just here and are now picking up where we left off. We caught up for a bit then went for snowballs. The rest of my team will all say snow cones, but I have always said snowballs. From snowballs, we went to whataburger and discussed our tentative plans.

Today was pretty low pace compared to the days ahead. We finished out today with our first debriefing, where some of us were already feeling the weight of the meals. We talked about what to have in our personal field bags, what to expect in the upcoming days, and some jobs we needed to take responsibility for, such as the walkie-talkies and camera. I am honestly nervous about the upcoming days with the heat. The high tomorrow is 98 degrees. We will have to be very aware of each other and watch for any signs of fatigue. Regardless, it is so good to be back. Tomorrow morning we will have our safety debriefing before we start our search, and then the ball will be rolling for the rest of the week.

Send us cool thoughts!

–Izzy

Photo of mosquito bitten legs
Jordan’s first run in with Texas mosquitoes
Team members getting snowballs
Snowballs!
Sacred Heart Cemetery
County Cemetery
Team members snowballs
Grape, Strawberry, Cherry, and Tiger’s Blood
Team members on connecting flight
Dallas to San Antonio
Team members sleeping on flight
Sleepy teammates
Team members at Torchy's
Torchys!
Team members on flight
Dr. Latham practicing her selfie skills
Early morning team photo
Early morning group picture
Team picture at the end of the day
Team picture of the day!

The Tourist Returns…

Environment, General, Human Rights, Migrant Death, Snapshots, , ,

Less than a week already! I am so thankful to have been chosen to be on this team once again. In my last blog post, I wrote about leaving Texas feeling like I was leaving with unfinished business, and I have thought about that since that day. The work done by the UIndy Beyond Borders Team is something I am so grateful to be a part of, and I am very ready to get back to work.

My last pretrip post was more about packing and food and very superficial things, simply because I didn’t have the experience or knowledge to even want to speak on what the next week would entail. Now, I am honestly worried about much different things. Of course, I still worry about packing the right elements for this trip. Texas heat in May is not for the faint of heart. I’ve been a part of many band camps in the Louisiana heat, and I am still worried about the heat. I’ve been trying to recall any advice from old coaches of how to keep cool, how to best stay hydrated, and how to fight off the swarms of mosquitos. I have not forgotten the hazards of hidden cacti and everything being sharp, but my biggest worry is rooted in the emotional perils that come with this work.

Texas ranch land
Brush

In January, we mostly encountered evidence of people passing through the areas we were searching, whether that was as recent as the night before or as long ago as us finding fully rusted cans as the evidence. We do this work to try and bring closure to the families who may have lost someone on this dangerous journey. After the trip in January, I feel as though I am so much closer to this cause than ever before. It’s very easy when working to compartmentalize the emotional and harder parts of the job, but I know this trip will impact me harder than ever before. Being more knowledgeable of the humanitarian crisis occurring at the US-Mexico border makes every step you take to find someone’s loved ones, to give help to those in need, to educate your community mean so much more than it ever had before. The more I learn about it, whether that is through reading about it, hearing someone’s personal account, or talking to those also involved in this work, the more I feel motivated to do everything in my power to help those affected by this crisis.

I’m looking forward to seeing Eddie and Don and everyone else who we worked with previously. By the end of the trip, I considered everyone a friend on top of being a teacher, a leader, and some of the most amazing people I’d ever met. Our team this May is made up of Dr. Latham, myself, Olivia, Jordan, and Austin. I am excited to see how we grow over this trip not only as teammates but friends as well.

See ya soon, Texas! Izzy

Jan 2022 Lessons Learned in the Field

General, Snapshots

Each time the Beyond Borders Team travels to the Texas Borderlands I ask each team member to provide a few sentences describing an important applied skill they learned in the field —

Izzy: “Your team is a vital part of a good search. Being able to communicate effectively allows searches to be more efficient and keeps morale high throughout physically and mentally exhausting days. Having an encouraging and supportive team makes you want to work harder and help each other every step of the way.”

Team member searching the brush
Izzy searching the brush

Olivia: “This trip taught me a lot about working with a team. Communication is vital, and having a team full of people who genuinely like each other’s company makes the work more enjoyable. I also learned it’s possible for people with very different backgrounds and outlooks on life to put aside their differences and work towards a common goal.”

Team member searching the brush
Olivia searching the brush

Tanya: “I have learned that it truly takes a “village”, not one person can try to tackle the humanitarian crisis occurring at the US/MX border. It takes several individuals and agencies to work together in order to reach the same goal of preventing migrant death by advocating for policy change, refilling water stations or rescuing those who may be in distress. At the end of the day it did not matter what kind of background we came from or what religious/political views we may hold, everyone made a conscious choice to show up and do the work!”

Team members in a line search
Tanya in a line search

Alex: “Our motto for this Beyond Borders trip was expect the unexpected. During our time out in the field, we certainly had several instances were things didn’t go according to plan. However, our team’s preparation, adaptability, and effective communication allowed us to overcome adversity and accomplish our goals.”

Team member looking through a discarded backpack
Alex investigating a migrant’s discarded backpack