Every Spring Break, a group of Rhodes students take part in the “Alternative Spring Break” Trip, which involves a variety of service and volunteer activities. This year, Rhodes students will travel to the Dominican Republic for a great experience of cultural immersion and community service. This week’s Campus Celebrity, John Pevy, a senior Rhodes student attending this year’s Alternative Spring Break, gives Her Campus some details about the trip.
Where is the alternative spring break taking place?
The trip will be in a small village called Cruz Verde. We’re going through an organization known as the Sister Island Project that works closely with the village to solve problems that the villagers themselves deem important.
What will the students be doing during this trip?
We will help build a school, as well as tutoring children in the afternoons after the temperature gets to hot for manual labor. We’ll also be participating in home stays, and this is a really interesting addition to the trip, as in the past everyone has stayed in the same location. Reflection will be another large component of the trip, and I’ve always really enjoyed hearing how the work that they are doing resonates with them. Seeing social justice issues really come alive through service, for those who have not been involved heavily in service before, is really a rewarding experience.
What are you most excited about for the trip?
I’m most excited to interact with the kids. I’ve had a couple service opportunities in Latin America in the past, first in Belize and then last semester in Costa Rica, and I’ve found that playing soccer games with the kids and having them open their homes and share their experiences with me was an extremely rewarding part of both trips. Also, I really can’t wait to give back to the community. I think it’s extremely interesting that we will be tutoring the kids, but also helping to build an educational infrastructure for them. In a way, we’ll be helping them for the moment and hopefully for the future all at the same time. Additionally, I have to say that I enjoy working with my hands, so the building will be as much a great opportunity to better the community as it will be an excellent chance to engage in an activity that I can’t regularly do while shut up studying at Rhodes. Sharing this experience with the other members of the team is another aspect of the trip that excites me. In Costa Rica, the bonds and friendships that I both created and deepened with the other students involved was one of the best parts of the trip. I’ve got so many fond memories from my past experiences that making these memories is definitely one of the parts of the trip I anticipate most.
Any worries or things to be nervous about?
One thing that is always on my mind is whether or not the people of the village will be receptive to the work we are doing. Since we’ll be living with people from the village, I think it’s going to be really interested to see how those nights at the homestays go, and how the people respond to our work while we are in their homes each day. Personally, I think that this aspect of the trip will be one of the things that I most remember once it’s all over. I really hope that our work helps to further empower the people of the village, and that they see that there is a bright future for their village, and their lives. Also, I’m not someone who flies often, and so navigating airports is always an exciting venture for me. I’m sure if you asked me this in the future, I would respond that airports are more of a hassle than anything else, but for now I’m satisfied to be excited about it. Other than that I can’t say I’m really worried about anything.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Rhodes chapter.