4/14/2009

By Cody Moskovitz, Toronto, Canada Senior, B.S. Communication Studies, 2009

 

During the 2009 spring break, I was fortunate enough to be a participant in the Alternative Spring Break program at Suffolk.  The program gives students the opportunity to travel to various destinations across the U.S. and perform community service in places of need.  The trips are organized by the S.O.U.L.S. Community Service and Service Learning Center, an on campus organization.  This year, there were four trips, one to Waveland, Mississippi, one to Starkville, Mississippi, one to Salem, Massachusetts, and my trip, which went down to Jefferson County, Texas.

Our group, consisting of 16 students, two student leaders, and two staff members, traveled to the Gulf Coast of Texas for one week, where we stayed at a local YMCA with three other Universities and one high school from all over the country. Throughout the week, we engaged in a variety of volunteer initiatives, including working with the Habitat for Humanity program building homes in areas that were damaged by the hurricanes.

We also assisted at a local church and elementary school and, at a boys and girls after school club, where we helped students with homework and played dodge ball and soccer with the kids. Each evening, our group would have free time to travel around and explore the local area, utilize the YMCA facilities, and unwind from the day of work. At night, we would have discussions about our daily experiences and share stories about our most and least favorite aspects of the day.  Also, during the final night of our trip, we traveled to Kemah, Texas, a popular tourist destination to have dinner and enjoy a nice evening for ourselves.

Each day provided new, exciting and challenging experiences that allowed me to learn new skills, meet new people or see something I had never seen before.  The work that we performed was fun, and very meaningful, both for the people that we were serving, and for ourselves.  It was nice to immerse myself in the local culture and have a different experience than what I am used to.   

Also, I was able to make 19 new friends from the experience, and these are special relationships that I cherish, and probably would not have formed under different circumstances. 

Being an International student, I felt privileged to be able to partake in this program and give back to these communities in need. The experience was rewarding and very fun and it was the perfect way that I could have spent the spring break of my senior year. 

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