Maureen Pascal, a professor of physical therapy at Misericordia, was one of the chaperones. “[Kayleigh] was a huge asset to the trip,” said Pascal, who has made eight trips to Guyana. “The kids really loved her.”

The trip, Pascal explained, was more about interacting with Guyanians than working on projects, like other service trips might. Students from Misericordia have visited the country every summer for more than 20 years. The school has longstanding contacts with the Sisters of Mercy in Guyana, an organization that sponsors ministries to help countries and people in need. Pascal said that the trips have helped students understand what it’s like to live in a developing country.

Drawing names

Jeffrey Passetti, the school’s assistant director of campus ministry and the trip’s other chaperone, described the group’s nightly routine of reflecting on what they saw each day. “On the last night,” Passetti said, “we did things a little differently.”

That night, Passetti said, group members wrote their names on slips of paper and mixed them together. Then each randomly drew from the pile, and shared something he or she had noticed about that person. “I got Kayleigh,” Passetti said. “The first thing I noticed about Kayleigh was her spirit. She was joyful and easy-going no matter what situation we encountered. She kept us laughing the whole trip. She kept our spirits up.”

He described the desolate conditions in Guyana, and how they can easily affect visitors in a negative way. “She helped us to understand that there is beauty there,” Passetti said.

In her years at East Meadow High, Morein acknowledged, she didn’t do much volunteering, instead focusing on clubs and sports. But once she graduated and was freed from those kinds of commitments, she said, “I thought it was time to give back.”

That was a primary reason she chose Misericordia, a Catholic, co-ed liberal arts university. “It was nice to come to Misericordia because we’re so service-based,” she said.