23 Students Mistakenly Sent On ABBA Service Trip
Service March 2, 2018 The New England Classic
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – As a result of clerical errors on the part of Campus Ministry, 23 students were accidentally enrolled in the Scandinavian ABBA Service Program. The members of Group 11, who had planned on departing for Whitesville, West Virginia as part of their Appalachia Volunteers service trip, were reportedly shocked when their plane landed at Arlanda Airport in Sweden’s capital of Stockholm.
“I couldn’t believe it,” recalled Yungan Sweet (CSON ‘17), the group’s graduate supervisor. “As soon as I saw that the in-flight movie was Mamma Mia, I knew something was off.”
Whereas most of their peers would soon be building houses, making community meals, and participating in deep discussions, members of the ill-fated Group 11 found themselves faced with the daunting tasks of learning the keytar, entering the Eurovision Song Contest, and single handedly re-inventing disco for the modern age.
Walter Loo (MCAS ‘21) reflected on his first service experience by noting that “Even though it wasn’t exactly what we signed up for, I definitely got a lot out of the experience. The best part was getting to assimilate into the local Disco culture; I never knew magic mushrooms made songwriting so much easier!”
Campus Ministry declined to comment on the origins of the snafu but assured future applicants to the program that no such mistake would be made again, and that the ABBA service trip would not be a regular option in which students could enroll.
“Honestly, that’s a shame. It sounds like it was really fun,” said Tay Kachanze (CSON ‘20). “If they change their mind, I’ll be first in line!”