Around this time of year, students contemplate where they would like to spend their weeklong spring break in the month of March. Many students will choose the typical and predictable spring break in Cancun or Acapulco. However, some students have a different experience in mind.
Alternative spring breaks are becoming increasingly popular not just at the University of Maryland but also among universities nationwide. The university’s Center for Campus Life’s Alternative Breaks program hosts trips at 27 different locations throughout winter break, spring semester and summer vacation.
Elizabeth Doerr, the Coordinator for Immersions of the AB program, says each trip has 10 to 18 student participants for each of the 27 trips. Alternative breaks are offered in a variety of locations including New Orleans, Chicago and eight international locations including Haiti and Costa Rica.
“Each trip depends on the social issue of that location,” Doerr said. “If the issue is hunger and homelessness then the students might work in a soup kitchen, food pantry or a homeless shelter. If the trip focuses on human trafficking or domestic violence, students would learn how to educate others on the subject and interact with people who work with those issues on a daily basis.”
Hannah Porter, a junior journalism major, who participated in an alternative spring break in Miami her freshman year, says these programs allow you to meet new people, help communities in need and have fun all at the same time. Participating in an alternative break is a great experience, she said.
“I decided to go on the Miami trip that focused on Gould’s Park in the city.” Porter said. “For the first half of the day we did manual labor and repaired things like building shelves and painting in the community center and then later in the day we’d help in an after school program. During the day we’d help the community and at night we’d explore Miami so it was both rewarding and fun!”
Porter, who decided to go through the Hillel Alternative Break program, says that if an individual is open to new experiences, new people and even new cultures, an alternative spring break is ideal.
“Alternative spring breaks might not be the typical college spring break experience but it’s definitely worth it,” Porter said. “You have four spring breaks in college so spending one doing something for other people and still having fun is just as important.”
Brittany Kane, a sophomore psychology major, is excited about traveling to Ashville, N.C. for her first alternative break program for spring break that will help with the healthcare epidemic that affects many areas of this country.
“My program is about health care and poverty in North Carolina,” Kane said. “Health care is an important issue in our country and I wanted to learn more about it. We will be volunteering at a local health clinic and see how poverty stricken areas have limited health care.”
Kane says she hopes to gain an appreciation for the medical care she receives while learning more about the health care system through the volunteer work she will be doing for the communities of Ashville.
“Not only will I be helping out poverty stricken families in the United States but I expect to learn from the people I interact with there,” Kane said. “Clearly this experience is more rewarding than a typical spring break filled with partying. I hope to come home a better and more knowledgeable person.”
Alternative breaks allow students to travel, learn new things, help others and have fun all at the same time. It may not be the typical college spring break but it’s definitely a beneficial and rewarding one, Doerr said.
“During an emerging experience, such as an alternative break, students definitely start to learn about a social issue from a different perspective,” she said. “Many of these students come back from the trips and become active citizens in their own communities. Helping others is what these trips are all about.”
For more information about alternative breaks at the university, visit http://thestamp.umd.edu/lcsl/involvement/alternative_breaks/index.html