Alternative Spring Break
Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is a weeklong service opportunity during the University's Spring Break in which participants travel across the country to help meet a need in a community. Since becoming a student organization in 2000, nearly 1,000 students have participated in ASB.
Participants examine the root causes of the social issues they work with through pre-trip education and reflection during the trip. Students meet with their team approximately five times prior to departure in March and two times after the trip. Past participants have helped Hurricane Katrina victims by working with KaTREEna in New Orleans, built homes with Habitat for Humanity in Georgia, served individuals leaving the prison system in Texas, cleaned the Mississippi River through Living Lands and Waters, and more.
Students will also enjoy one free day during their trip to enjoy the sites in their host city or in a city they travel through. This structure allows students to get to know a community and its residents on a deeper level to have a lasting impact!
Bus groups typically include 45 total participants with seven student leaders and 3 staff trip advisors on board.
Participants learn lessons in compassion and service that cannot be taught in the classroom alone, as well as the value of serving individuals, families, and communities in need. Students will bond with other participants and form new relationships from the moment they attend Reveal to find out which trip they are on.
2021 Trips
We hope to host domestic trips in May 2021. Applications and social issues will be available in February 1.
Fees
Fees for a trip are based on a student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as determined through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process. Costs will decrease as a student’s EFC lowers. Fees are charged to students' accounts in March, on the Friday before trip departure. As reference, costs for the 2020 trips are listed below.
|
EFC |
Bus Participant Cost |
Bus/Trip Leader Cost |
Plane Participant Cost |
Plane Trip Leader Cost |
|
0 |
$75 |
$25 |
$250 |
$200 |
|
1-5,486 |
$125 |
$75 |
$300 |
$250 |
|
5,487-9,000 |
$175 |
$125 |
$350 |
$300 |
|
9,001-24,000 |
$225 |
$175 |
$400 |
$350 |
|
24,001 and above; or no FAFSA on file |
$275 |
$225 |
$450 |
$400 |