A group of students from Bishop Guilfoyle Academy recently had the opportunity to take that leap and embarked on a life-changing journey to Tanzania for a service mission trip.

In partnership with BG alumnus Patrick Irwin’s nonprofit Selfless Solutions, 11 students worked with school children and also got their hands dirty, helping lay the physical foundation for an addition to their school building during their two-week excursion in early June.

After returning from Tanzania, the students said they believe they gained more knowledge about the world through experience rather than what traditional education can provide.

“You can read about something and learn all that there is to know about it, but until you actually experience it, you can’t grasp the fullness of something,” said 2025 graduate Elle Wilson.

Bishop Guilfoyle Academy students (center from left) Lauren Lehman, Elle Wilson and BG alum Holly Butler sift dirt during a construction project to help lay the foundation for an addition to a school building in Tanzania in early June. Courtesy photo

Irwin agreed, saying these types of experiences can make people question the world around them and how it relates to their own culture.

“Until you go out and experience life from a different perspective, you can’t really grasp how different the world can be,” Irwin said.

Preparing for greatness

Selfless Solutions aims to create opportunities, implement entrepreneurship programs and manage education in Tanzania.

Irwin said he was thrilled when trip leader and faculty member Diane Hayes reached out and told him BG was considering Tanzania as the destination for the school’s second mission trip. Bishop Guilfoyle has an extensive study abroad program that sends a group of interested students to a different country once a school year.

Students and faculty members from Bishop Guilfoyle Academy join students and staff at a school in Tanzania that the group visited during a two-week service mission in early June. Courtesy photo

Irwin traveled to Tanzania for the first time when he was 23 years old, but said he wished he had the opportunity to visit sooner.

“When I went to school here 10 years ago, we did not have these kinds of opportunities students have here today. I had the idea to take BG students in the past, but I did not think too seriously about it,” he said. “I didn’t think anyone would be willing to let their kids come to Tanzania.”

To prepare for upcoming study abroad trips, students are required to enroll in an online course where they learn about what to expect while traveling in that foreign country.

“The courses help students better absorb environments they travel to, so their appreciation for these environments sink in,” said Joan Donnelly, chief education officer and founder of the travel program.

Students not only learned about Africa before their trip, but they also raised funds to take to the mission site. According to Advancement Director Lisa Georgiana, Wilson received a grant from Altoona Sunrise Rotary and organized a dress-down safari theme day and bake sale with the help of junior Lauren Lehman.

Former Bishop Guilfoyle Academy art teacher Jana Sidler talks about her experience with Selfless Solutions. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Joey Lehman also secured a donation from the Men’s Club of St. Mary and St. Michael parishes. That donation was used to purchase school supplies for Tanzanian schools.

Students leave an impact

Art teacher Jana Sidler said the group was able to experience Tanzania from the inside out. When they weren’t working, the group toured the country, including a guided safari expedition.

Sidler said seeing the students get hands-on and build part of the school building’s foundation was “really rewarding” for the faculty.

“As a teacher, seeing the students in action and watching how dedicated they were to the cause and the kids was great,” she said.

Bishop Guilfoyle Academy graduate Holly Butler (left), 19, talks about her Tanzanian trip as Elle Wilson, 18, listens. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Lisa Wolf, trip participant and mom of four, said she was “in awe of the students” and how they treated everyone with whom they interacted during the mission trip.

“They never complained or backed away from the work at hand,” Wolf said. “The interactions with the children were so kind, patient and loving.”

While working, students were given an opportunity to develop personal connections with the people living in Tanzania.

“I loved playing with the kids,” Lehman said. “During the breaks when we were doing construction, we would get to play with them. We would push them on the swings, and they would say, ‘teacher, push!’ It was a lot of fun.”

“Seeing the kids and meeting the parents was really rewarding,” added 2023 BG alumna Holly Butler.

Bishop Guilfoyle Academy senior Lauren Lehman, 17, talks about her Tanzanian trip. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

BG educators who accompanied students on the trip were able to apply their teaching skills inside Tanzanian classrooms as well.

“Irwin let me be inside the classroom to work with the teachers,” Sidler said, “which was nice because I was where I was supposed to be. The teachers appreciated the help, and it was great.”

Takeaways from Tanzania

Although the students enjoyed being immersed into a different culture, they never lost sight of the importance of their contributions and Selfless Solutions’ mission.

“A lot of people said the safari was their favorite part of the trip, but I think the service part was my favorite,” Butler said. “Being with the kids and seeing what we were building and why we were building it was really cool.”

“I liked seeing all of the people in the schools,” Wilson said. “I saw elementary kids to girls that were my age, but now those girls have so many opportunities.”

Hayes was pleased with how the partnership between BG and Selfless Solutions materialized, saying it was the “perfect” experience for the travel program.

“Our students learned about the importance of community, and this travel opportunity allowed them to expand their definition to a global perspective,” Hayes said.

Lehman, Wilson and Butler strongly encouraged students to take the chance and study abroad.

“You’ll never learn what you want on the internet,” Butler said. “You have to actually go and see what’s happening, and it will give you a whole new perspective on life.

“Also, you will never see elephants in Pennsylvania.”

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.

Bishop Guilfoyle Academy graduates Holly Butler (left), 19, and Elle Wilson, 18, listen to Selfless Solutions founder and Executive Director Patrick Irwin. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski