Imagine if you could use your spring break to make the world a better place. Or if you could spend your fall break making social change in a nearby city. The Alternative Break program at IUPUI allows students just that -- opportunities to spend their semester breaks engaging in positive change, giving back and learning something new.
Medha Kulkarni took an Alternative Break trip as a participant in the fall of 2019 to Pikeville, Tenn. and focused on environmentalism. After falling in love with the program, she became a trip leader for the spring of 2021 and created a hybrid experience focused on sexual assault and domestic violence education and awareness.
Kulkarni says this experience was a point of change in her college career. Before she joined the program, she was passionate about sexual assault awareness, but was introverted and looking to meet new people.
"Alternative Break gave me newfound confidence and energy to push myself out of my comfort zone," she said. "It was a wave of learning, serving, reflecting, laughing and listening with an amazing group."
Each trip focuses on one to two social issues, and teams of 10 to 12 students will spend six to eight hours on community service each day of the trip. There are opportunities for students to become a trip leader or a co-coordinator who assists with creating and organizing these trips for their peers.
When work is done for the day, experiences are shared in reflection sessions so that students can take in everything they accomplished and learned.
"I learned to value and enhance my social learning skills, understand different perspectives and create strong social bonds," Kulkarni said. "Interacting with other people on social issues helped reflect on my thoughts, question my mindset, learn about communities that aren’t mine and assist others to better learn."
In a traditional year, Alternative Break trips are service-learning experiences that take students outside of Indiana to work with community organizations. Due to COVID-19, the program is currently offering a hybrid digital education program that allows students to explore issues nationwide. The program will still offer in-person volunteer experiences, but they will be local and follow appropriate health and safety guidelines.
There are several topics to spend your break focusing on. These topics have been previously studied on the different trips:
- Animal conservation
- Environment
- HIV/AIDS
- Indigenous rights
- Interfaith
- Mental illness
- Rural poverty
- Systemic racism
Applications to be a participant for the fall program will open in early October and applications for the spring trips will open in early November. Any questions about applying should be sent to jagbreak@iu.edu.
