This past Spring Break, Student Leadership and Involvement coordinated two Alternative Spring Break trips. One trip took place in New Orleans, LA, and the other took place in Bel Air, MD. Additionally, there were two Michigan Tech-led Study Away programs that took place over Spring Break, one taking place in Suriname and the other taking place in the Bahamas.
During the New Orleans Alternative Spring Break trip, students organized with a network of volunteers to support the city’s environmental sustainability efforts while also allowing them to immerse themselves in the community.
Alternative Spring Break is an experiential learning opportunity available to Michigan Tech students in good academic and conduct standings that promotes service, learning, and community building through participation in education, direct service, and reflection in order to become engaged members of their communities.
The Bel Air, MD, Alternative Spring Break trip was done in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna as part of the Collegiate Challenge program. Students on this trip assisted with home-building projects, volunteered at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and served meals at Our Daily Bread.
The Tech-led Study Away program in the Bahamas was a two-credit course in which students conducted a broad survey of the biology and ecology of tropical island plant and animal communities across marine and terrestrial systems. Taught by Dr. Casey Huckins and Professor Jill Fisher. Students spent their days hiking through tropical forests and snorkeling through marine habitats such as coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses, while spending their evenings learning about the ecology, identification of organisms, and discussing their experiences and observations they made while in the field.
The Tech-led Study Away program in Suriname students earned three-credits to engage directly with tropical ecosystems and learn about biodiversity, sustainable resource management, and the human-environment interactions shaping Suriname’s landscapes. Students got the opportunity to use drones to map the health of coastal mangroves and learned to collect field data using mobile GIS apps. Students also took a canoe ride down the Suriname River and had an opportunity to interact with local K-12 students.
Despite their similarities, Alternative Spring Break and Study Away are two distinct programs with several differences. The Spring Break Study Away programs typically involve international travel, and can be taken for Essential Education or HASS credit, as they focus primarily on education. Alternative Spring Break trips are usually domestic, focus primarily on service and volunteer work, and do not give participants academic credit, although they can be used to fulfill volunteer hours that some programs or scholarships may require.
Information on next year’s 2027 Alternative Spring Break trips can be found at mtu.edu/student-leadership/service/asb/ or by emailing huskyhelpers@mtu.edu. Information on future Michigan Tech-led study away Spring Break programs can be found at mtu.edu/study-away-abroad/ or by emailing studyabroad@mtu.edu.
