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School breaks with fun and service By
Sarah Mulholland Langford is the program director of Alternative Breaks at Utah State University. This program places teams of college students in communities to engage in community service and experiential learning during school breaks. Students perform short-term projects for community agencies and learn about issues such as literacy, poverty, racism, hunger, homelessness and the environment. "Some times I think it isn't worth my time, when I have a rotten committee member that isn't doing their work, but when I see the end result of the things I do, I am always reminded that I wouldn't trade anything for the experience I just had," Langford said. The objectives of an alternative break program are to involve college students in community-based service projects. It is also to give students opportunities to learn about the problems faced by members of communities with whom they otherwise may have had little or no direct contact. Being completely immersed into diverse environments enables participants to experience, discuss and understand social issues in a significant way. The intensity of the experience increases the likelihood that participants will transfer the lessons learned on-site back to their own communities even after the alternative break ends. The trips Langford has taken have taught her to not take things for granted. "I learned a lot more about how food banks work. I learned how to work with people that I didn't know and I had never met before. I learned how to get along with people who I wouldn't normally associate with." Langford first heard about this service program at the College of Eastern Utah. She saw a sign that said something about going to Mexico for Spring Break, and became interested. "I didn't want to go home and work so I applied," she said. She was accepted into the program and helped with the planning. One great memory she has of the trip is when the students helped a lady, who is about 70 years old, fix up her house. Her house is about the size of most people's living rooms in the U.S. It is approximately 25 by 50 feet. A hill is planted next to her house, about 5 feet away from the back door. Her front yard is about 20 by 25 feet. It is fairly flat with a sight slope. With about 15 people helping, a few of them tarred her roof, others cleaned up rocks that were sliding down the mountain side, and Langford was in a group that was cleaning up the front yard. There was sewage leaking down the sidewalk so they had to dig up pipes and find the leak. After uncovering all of the pipes, and not finding the problem, they uncovered the sewer box, which was the source of the liquid. The box was clogged and they unclogged it without getting too sick. Langford can remember three little kids, who were dressed fairly decently, running around and helping. She explained, "I could speak very little Spanish but I tried to say something, and when I did they got so excited. They would speak back, really fast and I would have to stop them and explain that I only spoke a little. They then tried to communicate with me slowly with hand motions." The children were excited and happy to help out where they could. They lifted the volunteer's spirits and made the experience more enjoyable. The streets in Mexico were lined with garbage and in the area they served in, junky cars and small trailers were placed. There were many clothes lines with old clothes hanging from them. About five minutes away from this area there were a few large houses that resembled mansions, in Mexico. Langford exclaimed, "What an eye opener. I learned a lot that day!" The group spent the night in Arizona and Langford was shocked at the difference in the lifestyle. "It was so close and yet such a difference," she said. After this influential trip to Mexico, Langford decided to apply to be a director for the program at USU. She was interviewed and offered the job. "I think the best part of being in this group is that you actually got to plan everything. You could pay a lot of money and go and do any trip, but in this one, the costs are cut down because you work hard to plan the trip yourself," Langford said. Robert Ray, a USU student from Malad Idaho, loves service and loves traveling. "When I worry about helping other people, my worries go away," he said. He has enjoyed working with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for those who can't afford to. Habitat for Humanity builds seven individual apartments in each building. Each apartment has three floors. The owners of the new homes usually look like normal people one may see on the street. They are required to help build their own home. Utah State University adopted this program a few years ago. The Salt Lake Tribune said students typically pay nominal fees to cover travel, food and housing costs, and work for free. The program expects about 6,000 students across the country to participate in projects it promotes, according to the Boston Globe. Fewer than 300 Utah college students went on campus-sponsored service trips. Providing the opportunity to be a do-gooder is still a hard sell. Anyone can go into the Val R. Christensen Service Center, located in room #332B of the Taggart Student Center and sign up. There are applications on the computers there, and an interview will follow. "There are rules for the breaks though, no homework is allowed on the trips. And there is no alcohol or drugs," Langford said.
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