Adelphi's Alternative Breaks program takes vacationing students to spots around the world to gain new perspectives by performing community service work.
In the movies and on campuses around the country, spring break is usually celebrated as a time of carefree fun. It certainly can be, but a growing number of students at Adelphi are seeking a more meaningful experience helping others through the University’s Alternative Break programs.
First offered for spring break in 2013, Alternative Break now provides service-learning trips to communities across the United States and around the world during summer and winter breaks as well.
More than 300 Adelphi students, including 48 in the past year, have participated in 20 faculty- and staff-led trips since the program’s inception, providing needed help in struggling communities while expanding their own perspectives, building cultural competence and increasing self-awareness.
The impact on students can be life-changing.
“Participating in the Alternative Break program is a transformative experience,” explained R. Sentwali Bakari, PhD, vice president for student affairs and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. “It minimizes the fear of the unknown, fosters self-knowledge, and inspires an appreciation for diverse cultures and the lived experiences of others. It also generates a sense of belonging to Adelphi University and motivates students to strive for more. I have observed that these experiences stimulate students’ desire to travel more, serve communities and enhance their career portfolio.”
Social work major Lynabby Bigord is just one of the many students who have been profoundly affected by their experience. “I felt a rebirth this semester after our trip to Spain and Morocco,” she said. “It gave me a new perspective on life, my future career and especially my experience in the classroom. I can no longer look at culture and family through a single lens. I approach problems and solutions with cultural humility, especially when it comes to religious, political and personal values.”
Coordinated by Adelphi’s Center for Student and Community Engagement, the program supports a number of priorities set by the University’s Momentum 2 strategic plan—nurturing an inclusive and connected community, achieving a global impact, and encouraging service.
Many Ways to Help
The Alternative Break program has offered a wide range of service opportunities for students, many in response to urgent needs, others dedicated to enduring problems.
- Hurricane Relief: In winter break 2024, students traveled to Florida to provide direct relief to people displaced by flooding from Hurricane Idalia. Alternative Break trips have also gone to Puerto Rico; Houston, Texas; and New Orleans, Louisiana, to help communities recover from devastating hurricanes.
- Building Projects: A spring break 2019 trip to Cuzco, Peru, and surrounding valleys in the Andes had students working alongside local construction workers building schools, community centers and health clinics. Students have also traveled to Guatemala; New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and San Francisco, California, to assist in building and renovation projects.
- Environmental Work: Winter break 2019 saw students volunteering at Lyon Arboretum Rainforest Center outside Honolulu, Hawaii, removing hundreds of pounds of invasive species. Students have also engaged in environmental projects in California and South Florida.
- Childhood Education: A winter break 2014 trip to Homestead, Florida, gave students the opportunity to mentor children of migrant workers, helping them with reading, computers, sports and music. Students have also taken Alternative Breaks to work with children in Belize and Puerto Rico.
- Cultural Exchange: Summer break 2023 and 2024 trips immersed students in the cultures, customs and perspectives of Spain and Morocco while they assisted in schools and on community projects.
- Personal Growth: Alternative Break trips have recently started offering opportunities for interior exploration through immersive mindfulness meditation retreats. Students traveled to the Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, New York, in Spring 2023 and the Magnolia Grove Monastery in Batesville, Mississippi, in Spring 2024.
On to Lisbon
With the popularity of trips to Spain and Morocco, students will have the opportunity in the upcoming winter break to travel to Portugal to volunteer in a Lisbon community center. Students will serve meals, assist in programs for local children, sort donations and perform many other helpful tasks. And, like all other Alternative Break programs, the trip to Lisbon will include an academic component and cultural programming.
Alternative Break programs are partially underwritten by Adelphi’s Student Government Association (SGA) and Graduate Student Council, with participating students helping cover expenses. The SGA also sponsors a small number of undergraduate students by providing scholarships for the full cost of the trip. Adelphi faculty often help plan, sponsor or chaperone trips.