Alyssa Montanaro Gives CMU Students The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Junior chemistry major Alyssa Montanaro gives the low-down on starting her own service trip. Though contacting a host organization in the Dominican Republic, recruiting on campus, and co-managing her team kept her busy year-round, simply seeing her group members smile let Alyssa know the work was worth it.
 

HC: How did you first become involved with Orphanage Outreach, and what steps did you take to made sure the initiative continued at CMU?
Alyssa: Last year I went on a spring break trip through Alternative Break which went to the Dominican Republic through Orphanage Outreach (OO). From what I know, the trip leaders from last year were looking to teach English in a developing country, and kind of stumbled upon OO.
 
I had so much fun on the trip last year and got so much from it that I really wanted to give others the same opportunity. So I ended up, with two other trip members from last year, forming my own group that will continue working with OO.
 
HC: Was it easy to get OO on board with connecting CMU students to their orphanages over different years?
Alyssa: OO was really awesome. They work with a ton of different colleges, high schools, and church groups, and many of them return year after year, which is why I think this process was so easy. They seemed to be really happy with the work we did last year on our trip and our eagerness to do more, so all we had to do was tell them we were interested in making this a yearly trip and they did everything they could to help us out!
 
 
HC: That’s great to have such a supportive partner organization. Was your recruiting process at CMU just as easy?
Alyssa: Yeah, it was actually pretty simple getting people on board. Liz Vaughan in Student Activities was really helpful, as was OIE. We put our idea out there through a couple of d-lists and the weekly announcements, and all of a sudden we were getting a ton of responses. It was really exciting.
 
 
HC: How many students traveled in your group? What was it like for those arriving for the first time?
Alyssa: There were 15 of us, which included myself and my co-trip leader Daniel LaGrotta (who also went on the trip last year) as well as Holly Hippensteel, who served as our advisor. For everyone else, it was their first time to the DR. For 11 of them, it was there first time on a Carnegie Mellon service trip.
 
People were pretty nervous going into the trip, especially due to the fact that most of us did not speak Spanish. Once we started teaching in the schools, everyone calmed down a ton and really started gaining things from the trip.
 
HC: What would you say was one of the most rewarding things about being a trip leader?
Alyssa: So for 4 days on our trip, we taught English at La Ciudad de Luz, a private school for pre-K to 4th graders. Because spring break tends to be really busy for OO, they are able to send volunteers to schools that don’t normally get it. We were the first OO teachers there in a long time. The last day we were there, the school put on this presentation for us in the afternoon, full of songs and dancing and them saying thanks and how they didn’t want us to go. The best thing for me was to look around and see all my trip participants with 3 kids on their laps just smiling with pride and love.
 
Outside of the actual trip, I think for me I was just really proud at how this group took off. This was a little brain child of mine from the beginning of the year, and the fact that we actually went on this trip, became recognized as a student org., and got our name out to campus in such a short amount of time was really cool to watch.
 
HC: Not too mention the new skills you’ve gained! Any advice for CMU students who want to start their own service trips?
Alyssa: I’d say just go for it. There’s tons of interest on this campus for service trips. It was definitely a little intimidating to do, but I got a ton out of this experience and learned a lot. I guess I’d say to reach out to the contacts that you know would be of help (Student Activities, OIE). They are super supportive. And because there’s so much demand for service trips at CMU, the excitement I saw in all of my participants made everything else easier. Even when I had a ton of little details to work out, they gave this trip a face and a purpose. Lastly, I’d say to reach out to those who have done it before you. It helps to hear that you can do it.
 
You can find more information on Orphanage Outreach here