Jack Rothacker, a fourth-year studying business administration and Spanish and a 2024-2025 Social Innovation Fellow, partnered with the Discomfort Club to put on the second annual Perseverancia event on Nov. 16. Perseverancia is a nonprofit with an aim to raise money to build a school in El Salvador.
El Salvador has three school cycles for students. Cycle one is first through third grade, cycle two is third through sixth grade and cycle three is seventh through ninth grade. The main cycle of education they’re lacking is the third cycle, which is what Rothacker is focusing on for the new build. Because of the limited number of third-cycle schools, many students are unable to go past sixth grade.
Rothacker originally gained inspiration for the event during a mission trip in El Salvador, where he noticed the need for schools for young students. He originally planned on solely building a seventh-grade classroom, but the project has since expanded to a three-classroom construction.
“That’s why I think I’ve just stuck close to, honestly, my nonprofits, values of raising the money for this classroom, for this community, sticking with education as a solution to improving life,” Rothacker said. “Just creating opportunities.”
Rothacker spent two months this summer in El Salvador living in a church and interning for Habitat for Humanity.
“I think that’s really what has kept me so close to this project, is that I feel like I have a family over there,” Rothacker said. “I feel the commitment to this project and to wanting to learn more, and there’s just so many opportunities to innovate and almost just change the future through education.”
Last year, Rothacker said the event had about 120 participants — 12 teams with 10 people on each team — and over 40 volunteers. This year, he wants the event to be even larger and hopes for about 36 teams. He’s reached out to the captains of intramural teams, student organizations in the Latinx community and presidents of fraternities and sororities to get participants.
So far, Rothacker has raised over $15,000 for the cause, and hopes that they can hit $70,000 soon. If all goes well, construction for the classroom will begin in the next few weeks.
“The budget is a $70,000 project,” Rothacker said. “I’ve already raised $15,000 from October 2023 and we’re expected, not confirmed, but we’re expected to start building our first classroom in November, because their school years are from January to October.”
The Discomfort Club aims to push students out of their comfort zone to achieve personal growth. Shire Thompson, a third-year studying business management and the president of Discomfort Club, thinks it is important for students to build community and challenge themselves to grow.
“I think getting outside your comfort zone, breaking your routine, breaking your habits, is really where you grow in life, and that us humans, we’re meant for growth,” Thompson said. “When you stay the same, when you get comfortable, that’s where our mental health crisis begins. It’s all about promoting people’s mental and physical well-being and having fun along the way.”
Radhika Kulkarni, a third-year studying business administration and the head of marketing for Discomfort Club, said this event has the potential to make a big impact.
“The cause overall is so, so important,” Kulkarni said. “So I feel like tying this into Discomfort Club and just creating like that can creating like that community around it, it’s just going to create greater awareness. And then from that, you make a real impact.”
