I'm already thinking about Spring Break next year...

   

I know what comes to your mind whenever you think about spring break, especially for a college student: PARTY TIME!! FIST PUMP!!  For some this may be true, but for most it’s not.  A vacation is always nice, but spending your vacation giving back to the community sounds like the perfect spring break to me.  There are numerous opportunities that students can participate in during spring break.  At the University of Kentucky, the Center for Community Outreach (CCO) does an excellent job providing what they call Alternative Spring Break opportunities.  There were six different trips that the CCO organized this year.  Some of the trips were in the United States, while others were international.  Each trip was planned in conjunction with a non-profit organization.  The options for an Alternative Spring Break were as follows:

·         David, KY: Youth in Appalachia

·         Atlanta, GA: Refugee Resettlement

·         Biloxi, MS: Rebuilding After Katrina

·         Washington, DC: Hunger and Homelessness

·         Santo Domingo, Ecuador: Global Health and Wellness

·         Jaibon, Dominican Republic: Global Youth Empowerment

             

Can you imagine how awesome it would be to visit Ecuador or the Dominican Republic over your spring break?  It is such a small price for a big opportunity.  The experience would be everlasting and the impact that you could make on the people you are helping would be something you would never forget.  I didn’t realize that I could actually participate in the Alternative Spring Break Program, until after the deadline had already passed for this year.  However, I will not pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity next year.  You would be surprised how much the simplest things can mean to a person.  I can’t even begin to think how thankful that people that are being helped through these organizations feel after a group of amazing people come to help their community.  From going on one of these trips, the CCO guarantees that you will come back with “new friends, new knowledge, a renewed sense of self, and a renewed desire to serve.”  An Alternative Spring Break is a way to have a great vacation and a rewarding experience.  Who knows, you may be one of my new friends that I met next year on one of these trips.  I hope to see you there!

Hanna is a junior at the University of Kentucky, majoring in Agricultural Biotechnology.  She is from Chaplin, Kentucky.  Her goal is to attend pharmacy school.  She is involved with UK Block & Bridle, and is a COA Agricultural Ambassador.