April 25, 2024

Alternative Spring Break group ventures to Florida for environmental work

Sixteen Northwest Missouri State University students took an alternative approach to their spring break this year by engaging in service projects along the Florida coast.

The students comprising the University’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) organization traveled March 10-15 to Rosemary Beach, Florida, where they focused on environmental activities in partnership with Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, including a reef reforestation project and helping to rebuild sealife habitats. Students also helped with a planting project at an elementary school and filled sandbags.

“Quality work over quantity is definitely a big thing,” ASB President Morgan Jaeger said. “While our students love a good beach day and all those things, it was clear that they had a heart for service.”

ASB is an immersion program that places teams of college students in diverse cultures and communities to engage in community service and experiential learning during Northwest’s annual spring break week. The group also explores issues of social justice, economic disparity and community outreach while developing critical thinking and leadership skills.

Jaeger, a sophomore business management and marketing major from Olathe, Kansas, was active in service work as a high school student and wanted to continue that when she arrived at Northwest. She joined ASB as a first-year student at Northwest and participated in last year’s spring break trip to Fort Myers, Florida, where students assisted with Hurricane Ian relief efforts by working at food banks and assisting with construction projects at churches and housing sites.

“Engaging in such service activities helped to create a positive impact on the Florida community,” Jaeger said. “We were able to witness the differences we made through our collective effort. This service trip also encouraged personal growth in each of our members as we were able to grow our cultural and global awareness.”

In addition to providing students with an opportunity to travel and make an impact in different communities, Jaeger said ASB opens students to developing new skills and considering career opportunities they might not have thought about previously.

“Joining Alternative Spring Break offers students a chance to engage in meaningful service, gain hands-on experience and make a positive impact on the community,” she said. “Students were able to get outside their comfort zone and have the opportunity to partake on a hands-on service project they get to carry with them for the rest of their life.”

Prior to this year’s trip, ASB received financial support from Northwest’s Student Senate as well as $9,500 from Ten Squared Women, a local organization dedicated to supporting charities, non-profits and other causes in Nodaway and surrounding counties. ASB applied a portion of the funding to subsidize the costs for two students to participate in this year’s experience and will apply the remaining funds to help students join future trips.

“Receiving support from organizations like Ten Squared Women can be incredibly meaningful as they not only provided financial assistance but also validated the importance of the work we were doing,” Jaeger said. “This helped our organization receive resources that uplifted our mission and further encouraged our members to serve over spring break.”

Further, Northwest Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Matt Baker recognized Jaeger and ASB for their work during Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting. Baker praised the students for their initiative and relayed feedback from Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance about the high quality of work completed by ASB.

“I’m very confident and comfortable with the work that we do to engage our students and get them connected, but it’s even better when the students lead it themselves,” Baker said. “That will pay dividends for generations to come.”

He added, “We talk about work ethic. We talk about connecting. We talk about just being who we are as Bearcats. I think they represented us extremely well.”

Founded at Northwest in 2006, ASB annually gives students opportunities to participate in service-learning and volunteer projects within a different environment than their own. The goal is to provide individuals with service opportunities while positively influencing others’ lives. In recent years, Northwest students have traveled with ASB to Wilmington, North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; New Orleans; Jacksonville and Panama City in Florida; as well as Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

During the fall semester, ASB focuses its activities on local needs and encourages student members to accumulate more than 20 hours of service work each semester. Students regularly volunteer at the New Nodaway Humane Society and participate in cleanup projects among other activities.