MCLA Blog

The ASB program strives to provide educational experiences by giving participants the opportunity to learn about a new culture or place by becoming an active member of the host community. ASB is based on the belief that experiential, hands-on learning is an intrinsic element of a liberal arts education. Students are given the chance to improve their cross-cultural skills and to challenge their world view. The ASB experience is designed to combine service with the building of bridges between and within communities of people. In addition, every ASB trip gives the volunteers the opportunity to share their experiences and knowledge gained with the MCLA community.
Prior to the trip, the student participants meet often to prepare themselves for their experience. The group also plans fundraising events to help defray trip expenses and raise awareness on campus about what the ASB group will be doing.

“The trip was amazing and exceeded all of my expectations. The people in New Orleans were so friendly and hospitable. We even met a woman, Kathy, who a few of the group members helped with her lawn, and she went out to dinner with us and wanted to pay! She told us all about the city and her experiences and was very open and kind to us. The people down there are so genuine and full of spirit; I am grateful to have had the opportunity to go down, and I can’t wait to go again in March!”

Emily Silver
ASB New Orleans 2007

ASB Trips of the Past
2007- Habitat for Humanity, New. Orleans
Nine MCLA students and four MCLA staff members spent their Spring Break in New Orleans helping Hurricane Katrina victims. The group stayed with over 600 other volunteers from around the country at Camp Home, an elementary school turned volunteer camp. The MCLA group participated in a variety of activities each day. They helped do finishing work on Habitat for Humanity homes about to be turned over to new owners. They were part of an assembly line that constructed over twenty outside sheds and storage units for future homeowners currently displaced by the flooding, and they made bunk beds for future volunteers. The MCLA team also volunteered at a local food and clothing distribution center, and while they were there they met a gentleman who needed help cleaning up his yard. With this diversity of volunteer work the group was exposed to the vastness of the damage and the complexity of recovery work. Additionally, the group was able to befriend Katrina survivors, share meals with them, be invited to their homes, and most importantly to hear their personal stories. This was a profoundly moving experience for all involved, and one which every group member will carry with them for a very long time.

2006- Belize, Central America

MCLA students spent their Spring Break on a cultural immersion and service program in Belize, Central America. The twelve students and two facilitators spent ten days learning about the diverse cultural and ethnic make-up of Belize as well as exploring its fascinating environmental and ecological landscape. Students spent four days living with Belizean host families in the island village of Crooked Tree, which is also a wildlife sanctuary. While living with their Creole speaking families, students also participated in a community service project: they painted the local community center and hurricane shelter, and created signs documenting many of the local trees and vegetation for the local Audubon society. While staying at Monkey Bay Education Center, students received historical, cultural and environmental orientations about Belize, visited the wildlife and baboon sanctuary, explored ancient Mayan palaces and sacred caves, went midnight canoeing, and they visited the coast to learn about the reefs. It was an educational and amazing trip for all.

“I will always remember ASB spent in New Orleans. The warmth and generosity of the people, even though they suffered so much. Also, the spirit of New Orleans that never went away. This is something that I’ll remember the rest of my life, something that I’m very proud of.”

Jihan Leonard
ASB New Orleans 2007

2005- Navajo Nation

Eight MCLA students and two MCLA faculty/staff participated in the 2005 Alternate Spring Break (ASB) trip, March 12-21. The group traveled to the Navajo Nation in northwest Arizona where it engaged in a 10-day community service and cultural immersion program. Students participated in a home stay, living with Navajo families. They worked with the community helping to provide literacy support to elementary students, and they helped to collect wood for an elderly couple. The students were engaged in on-going cultural talks and workshops facilitated by local elders and teachers from Dine College, as well as visited sights of historical and cultural importance.

MCLA’s Alternative Spring Break trip provided an opportunity for students to spend their break involved in a program that explored a different culture within the U.S, included community service and was exciting and incredibly educational. The students were able to gain knowledge and awareness of life on the reservation by being active members of the community. Whether it was assisting students with reading or math, playing basketball during recess, having a guided tour of a sacred site, talking into the night with host mothers and host sisters or participating in a ritual, they learned by being engaged and involved. The participants were able to observe how many young Navajo are caught in two worlds- the “Anglo”, mainstream U.S. culture and the traditional Navajo life. Students were also awed by the beauty and immensity of the landscape and shocked how early people got up to attend to the animals. Mostly, students kept remarking that they could not believe they were still in the U.S.

Students and staff began planning for the trip in the fall with fundraisers and orientation activities. With generous donations from the institution, faculty, staff and other students enough money was raised to make the trip a reality. At their presentation two weeks ago, it was evident that it was money well spent. Each student described different components of the trip and shared what they learned about past and present day life on the reservation. Most poignantly they shared how the trip impacted them personally and helped provide a more macro view of United State’s history. It was also incredibly satisfying to see the ASB students educating and sharing the culture of the Navajo with their fellow students and professors. ASB participants continue to share their experience with the campus and community and student are already asking where next year’s trip will be!