Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is a weeklong service opportunity during the University's Spring Break in which participants travel 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 six student leaders and three 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.
Applications are now closed for Spring 2023 breaks. Information will be available for Spring Break 2024 in August 2023.
Applications will be evaluated based on a rubric including attitude, teamwork, growth, and cultural competency. Please be thoughtful in your responses.
Trip options:
Trip one: Living Lands and Waters, Saving the Mighty Mississippi through Restoration and Recycling (Tennessee)
Trip two: Community Immersion in Memphis with Serve901 (Tennessee)
Trip three: Supporting the Elders of the Cherokee Nation (Oklahoma)
Trip four [HONORS EXPERIENCE ONLY]: Addressing Poverty through Affordable Housing and Education with Our House (Arkansas)
The service includes general construction and property maintenance such as building wheelchair ramps and general home repairs.
Trip five: *International Children's Outreach, Building Community with Youth (St. Lucia, Caribbean)
ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST PROVIDE PROOF OF FULL COVID VACCINATION BY THE DATE THE TRIP DEPARTS TO PARTICIPATE
See our Costs and Payment page for information about trip costs, fee discounts, and our financial responsibility policy.