While most students look forward to spending their upcoming break lounging on sandy beaches and sipping margaritas, several University students will be helping communities throughout the Northwest as part of the Alternative Spring Break program.
After several months of training and pre-curriculum with the University’s Service Learning Program, 50 students will embark on four separate trips to California and Eastern Oregon.
During her first year at the University, Erin Thomas attended the San Francisco trip. Now as a junior,Thomas will be a co-facilitator for the 2010 Alternative Spring Break trip to Los Angeles.
“Going on the trip that first year honestly changed my life and my career goals. I am now in the FHS program, and I don’t think I would be there had I not got involved with Alternative Spring Break,” Thomas said.
Although some of the students who have attended remember the experience as stressful, overall they said it was worth the headaches, and it gave them an enriching experience.
For students like Thomas, who are from small towns, going to a bigger city to help out and volunteer is life-changing.
“Going on this trip will push my boundaries and help me grow as a person in many ways,” Thomas said. “I hope to become more comfortable in settings I am not familiar with.”
Sean Dinno, coordinator of campus relations for the Service Learning Programs, selected the student facilitators for this year’s spring break. Along with trips to San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, a group of students will collaborate with Oregon State University students in helping communities throughout Eastern Oregon.
“It’s beneficial for the students in the sense that it allows them to get hands-on experience and learn about key social issues that affect everyone today and constantly find ways to create change,” Dinno said. “Rather than just having an unproductive break or spending it in a way that doesn’t benefit others and just yourself, Alternative (Spring) Break is a way to give back to the communities surrounding us.”
During several months of preparation and curriculum, the students learned how to handle the social issues they might face and how to immerse themselves in a culture. After all the preparations, the students will embark on a student-run trip.
“I think any person could benefit from an Alternative Spring Break trip, whether they have a life-changing experience like I did, or they just have a really fun week making friends and dedicating themselves to service,” Thomas said.
Throughout the trip, the students will be doing a variety of services and volunteer work, depending on what the organization or community really needs. Some students will work with after-school childcare, while others might work with Native American tribes or make lunches for migrant workers.
“It shows students that there are a lot of issues outside our campus bubble,” Thomas said. “Seeing first hand the things that haunt society is something you cannot get by just taking a class.”
Sophomore Lily Velasco-Adania went on the program’s first-ever San Diego trip last year, and she had such a great experience that she applied to be a site facilitator for this year’s trip. “You meet people who are willing to share their lives and experiences with you, and it’s educating and fascinating,” Velasco-Adania said.
“It really shows you that you don’t have to go far or outside the U.S. to help people in need or fight for human rights issues.”
In San Diego, the students will work with several organizations and groups that deal with immigration issues in Southern California.
Although many students on the trip usually have differing opinions on the political and social issues they encounter, Velasco-Adania says they just try to channel their experiences into helping others and bringing awareness back to Eugene with them.
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