When Maryland students plan their winter and spring breaks many times they envision themselves partying with their friends or relaxing on the beach. Two juniors decided to use their breaks to give back to the community and build their resumes instead by leading Alternative Break trips.
The process of becoming a trip leader for an Alternative Break requires going through a selective application. After the initial application, candidates are interviewed by the alternative break staff. In order to be selected as a trip leader, the candidate has to be specifically matched with a program and pass its interview portion.
Junior criminology major Correy Heesen is leading her first alternative break to Gaston, North Carolina this winter after participating on a trip to the Dominican Republic for education last spring break, working with a local preschool. The trip centers around rural education, specifically targeting the issue of the achievement gap between low and high income districts, and how it impacts the community, according to the Alternative Break website.
The Maryland program partners with a community organization called the KIPP School (Knowledge is Power Program), a charter school targeted at low-income neighborhoods. The school tries to bridge the achievement gap by having students attend school more than regular schools require; KIPP students attend classes every weekday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., two Saturdays a month and three weeks during the summer. The program goes from Jan. 9-19 and costs $275, according to the Alternative Break website.
Heesen says she enjoys participating on Alternative Break trips because “it’s a good way to do consistent service for more than just a few hours.” While typical community service projects consist of a days work, Alternative Break participants do steady community service for the entire duration of their program. While the service aspect is obviously the focus of the program, Heesen said her trip is about more than that, such as the relationships the participants form with the local people.
“Not only do we do service but we do reflections and make relationships with community partners that last longer than just our trips.”
After being a participant last year, junior psychology major Brittany Kane is leading her first alternative break to Robbinsville, North Carolina for spring break. Her program centers around the concept of Native American immersion, under the generalized category of marginalized populations. According to Kane, the program is broken up into different elements of service within the Snowbird Cherokee Community such as working with elders, building houses and volunteering in a health clinic. Kane’s program works with the Once Upon a Time program to immerse themselves in the Native American Culture. The program goes from March 16-23 and costs $560.
Kane says the Native American program stuck out to her because “the Native American culture has always been of interest for me and I’m excited to experience it first hand since I’ve never been able to up until this point.” Kane also said being a trip leader will give her valuable leadership experience since she’s leading a team of 10 students throughout the duration of the program.