Students share their alternative spring break experiences at a meeting April 13.

An alternative spring break

Students return to UD inspired to help others

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12:08 p.m., April 19, 2011--The numbers say a lot: 219 applications, 92 participants, 12 site leaders, 5 projects and 3,164 volunteer hours. But the members of the University of Delaware Alternative Break (UDaB) program have returned to UD say even more: They have a new outlook on life.  

This year, UD students had the opportunity to spend spring break volunteering in communities in need throughout the country. One group traveled to Boston to work on food scarcity issues. Another group drove 20 hours on a bus to New Orleans to partner with the National Relief Network, and a third group spent the week in Sumter, S.C., in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity’s Collegiate Challenge. The fourth UDaB team aided the Francis Marion National Park in South Carolina, and the final group worked in Newark, N.J., with an outdoor education program for Newark children. 

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Volunteer activities included planting cypress trees in swamp lands, building homes, restoring trails, working with children, serving meals in homeless shelters and much more. 

On Wednesday, April 13, members of the UDaB program gathered in the Willard Hall Education Building to share their experiences and reflect on each of their programs. A member from each trip presented a brief summary of what they did over spring break and how it affected their lives. Common themes that resonated throughout the program were increased desires to engage in community service and changed perspectives on what is truly important in life. 

Many students commented on how they thought the trip was about helping others when in reality they were the ones who benefited most.  New Orleans trip member Phil Gueieri stood in front of everyone and said, “I didn’t change New Orleans; New Orleans changed me.” 

Gueieri said it only took one week in New Orleans for him to discover that someday he wants to use his engineering degree to work with disaster relief programs. He then challenged his fellow classmates to sincerely reevaluate the tools they have been given and figure out how to put them to use to help others.

Susan Serra, coordinator of the Office of Service Learning and UDaB, said she could not have been more pleased with the results of the pilot program. “We only expected to send one or two trips and were thrilled to send five, but there was such interest from students we could have sent twice that many. We were pleased to have the generous support of the UD Alumni Association, which provided funding support for this program.” 

She said she sees a promising future for UDaB after such a strong inaugural year. 

The groups’ next step is to create an executive board to help solidify the structure of the program and begin recruitment for next year’s site leaders. 

Kelsey Brayman, a junior health behavior science major, traveled to South Carolina for the Habitat for Humanity trip. Her advice for future UD students is to “Just do it! A student who does this will always leave with a newfound perspective of their own life and ultimately hold a spirit for something larger than yourself.”

Students from all years and majors are welcome to be a part of the UDaB program. For more information about the alternative spring break trips, visit the Office of Service Learning website.  

Article by Greta Gibboney

Photos by Evan Krape 

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