An Educational Break

Students pay it forward during spring break service trips

By MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

A sightseeing excursion became a learning opportunity for anthropology major Nalani Saito 鈥�17 and five fellow volunteers when, after pulling a van off-road one day to take photos, their vehicle got stuck in the Alabama mud. Getting unstuck took some cooperation and heave-ho as well as a little assistance from a nearby organic farmer. And by the end of the experience, the group had picked up a new skill鈥攁nd the confidence boost that comes with meeting new challenges. They also had a fresh appreciation for a different way of life.

It was an unexpected lesson in an opportunity-rich spring break, as 52 students and eight administrators ventured out of their comfort zones to help communities in need through Dickinson service trips, which are hosted several times each year by the Office of Community Service & Religious Life.

Saito's team assisted with a food bank and facilitated other local-outreach opportunities in Upper Sand Mountain Parish, Ala., while those who went to Americus, Ga., created a new tool library for the Fuller Center, a Christian nonprofit created by the founder of Habitat for Humanity. The volunteers in Americus also worked side by side with Fuller volunteers, laying floors and painting ceiling tiles and walls in a home for a family in need.

The 17 Dickinsonians who worked in Greenwood, S.C., lodged in a local church while assisting Habitat for Humanity volunteers, as they built a home for a Greenwood family. Others, like Yael Farber 鈥�17 (Judaic studies), worked with community organizations to enrich blighted Detroit, Mich., neighborhoods by lending a hand to urban farmers; Farber's group also helped set up a library at a public school, enjoying a chance to see third-graders take books out of the library for the first time.

Sociology major Colleen Brandt 鈥�17, who volunteered in South Carolina last year, served as a student trip leader for the Georgia excursion. She said that experiences like these teach the volunteers how to provide services in the most beneficial way and allow students to draw inspiration directly from those they serve.

For three-time service tripper Nicole Price 鈥�15 (biochemistry & molecular biology), a student leader in South Carolina, service trips are exceptional leadership-building experiences.

鈥淚 learned that being an effective leader means providing a space for others to recognize their leadership potential and utilize it,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here were a number of times on the work site when I had no clue what was the next step to take, and when other trip members stepped up to guide me, I was so proud.鈥�

Service trips also foster new friendships, added fellow student leader Austin MacDougall 鈥�15 (religion, psychology). 鈥淭he evening before we left Alabama for Dickinson, we joined a number of the people we worked with for dinner,鈥� said MacDougall, who marked his fourth service trip this spring. 鈥淭o me, that really showed just how strong our relationships with the community had grown in such a short amount of time, and I was incredibly grateful for that.鈥�

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Published March 20, 2015

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Students pay it forward during spring break service trips

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