Students to serve communities on spring break

alt spring break
File photo
In the kitchen of Home Delivered Meals, a student prepares food for senior citizens during the 2014 alternative spring break.

More than 130 Alternative Breaks participants put the final touches on a variety of projects and workshops as they prepare for weeklong engagements with social justice issues and nonprofit agencies in 16 locations up and down the East Coast.

The Alternative Breaks program promotes service learning through direct community action in collaboration with regional communities to heighten social awareness, enhance personal growth and advocate lifelong social action. Students participate in a rigorous 12-week team building and training program to prepare for their trips. Through in-depth discussions and workshops, Alternative Breaks teaches a set of core principles including diversity and inclusion, risk management, reciprocity and direct service that address the causes of the social issues the agencies they work with address.

Umar Ayub ’16, a past trip participant leading the trip to Mountain Lake Academy – an academic and treatment program tailored to the social, emotional and educational needs of adolescent males ages 12-21 – said: “Our agency has asked trip participants to help tutor students. We will also be coordinating and performing a program-wide talent show and preparing a special dinner.”

Ayub says his team has been working since November, studying ways in which to target the agency’s needs and how to work with youth who have been labeled “at-risk.” Team discussions have focused on the adolescent brain, positive youth development, the psychology of biases and positive effective youth communication.

Alternative Breaks is a student-run program of the Public Service Center, advised by Joyce Muchan, assistant director for student programs. More than 2,000 students have participated in alternative spring breaks.

Rachit Parasrampuria ’16, the program’s student president, said: “Over the years, I have seen incredible personal growth among participants of this organization and have myself grown so much as a leader and community member. This really is a life-changing experience. People have redirected the course of their lives based on the experiences they’ve had engaging in a novel and incredibly constructive way with these agencies. I feel committed to providing that for more students at Cornell and fostering a strong group of civic minded individuals.”

Students depart March 29 for their weeklong trips.

Media Contact

Joe Schwartz