While many of the students at Plymouth State opted to spend their spring breaks on exotic beaches splashing in waves and cocktails, others chose an alternative way. Sixteen Plymouth State students and two faculty members lent their hands and hearts to the Florida Everglades and the still-devastated city of New Orleans.
Both trips departed Saturday, March 17 in a blizzard to venture to these southern destinations. Two Plymouth students chose these locations. Amanda Morris coordinated the Florida trip and Amanda Boisvert coordinated the trip to New Orleans. They each brought a group of seven members. Amanda Morris’ was made up of Lisa Busch, Samantha Fand, Gene Martin, Morgan O’Connell, Kim Wall, Catie Wilson and Casey Wishart. Rob Masse, who is an English Professor, was their faculty advisor and went on the trip as well.
Those who went to New Orleans included Jennafer Goetsch, Tim Sacco, John Crepeau, Jessica Brown, Meaghan Bixby and Laurel Horne. Their faculty advisor was Fawn Ouellette, a professor in the Language and Linguistics department.
These students went through an interview process and were selected to be a part of Alternative Spring Break. “We filled out applications, which included several short essay questions about why we wanted to participate. We were also asked which group we would prefer to be in during the interview with the group coordinators and Nancy Conklin at the Community Service Learning Center. After the group was selected we met once a week for the rest of the semester,” explained Casey Wishart.
Amanda Morris wanted to go someplace warm and work with animals. Her group departed Plymouth on Saturday and drove the 31 hours in a van to Deerfield Beach Florida. They had many jobs while they were there. They did fundraising for the Animal Rescue Force of South Florida and raised over $500. To get these donations, they risked their lives by standing in a busy intersection and approaching cars stopped at the traffic light. The group visited pet shelters and were asked to name seven newborn puppies. Then, they ventured to Biscayne National Park and cleaned up all the trash where sea turtles will soon lay their eggs.
“This was easily one of the best weeks of my life,” said Professor Masse. “I got to travel to Florida with a great group of people, help an animal shelter and cruise over the water off the coast of the Everglades.”
It is obvious that the hard-working students enjoyed themselves as well. Kimberly Wall explained some of the fun things they got to do. “We spent time at the beach in Ft. Lauderdale, ate at sushi/Hibachi restaurant, and drove down alligator alley,” she said. They returned to Plymouth on the following Friday with brand new stories.
The group that went to New Orleans also came back feeling rewarded from their busy week of hard work. Amanda Boisvert chose to do the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity trip because of all the terrible destruction and devastation that Hurricane Katrina left. These individuals also drove in a van the 30 hours to Louisiana. While they were there they stayed in a placed called Camp Hope. The facility was an elementary school before the hurricane hit. They were part of 800 volunteers from all across the country who were there to help.
“The destruction was shocking,” said Boisvert. “It felt as if we were visiting just a couple months after the hurricane, not a year and a half later.” They worked Monday to Friday from 7:30 A.M.-2:30 P.M. In an area in New Orleans called Musicians’ Village. These are homes for families with musical talents. There will soon be over a hundred homes built there, along with a community building, of which 30 are already constructed and they also painted rooms in a church. They built walls for sheds and painted houses so homeowners could move in as soon as possible. “It felt rewarding when people from New Orleans would be so grateful and express their true thanks to us volunteers,” said Jennafer Goetsch.
The students who volunteered probably could not even imagine what to think of New Orleans before they saw it. “On Sunday when we crossed over the bridge into Louisiana all I could think was “Wow! So many houses are barely standing, and as you drive down the street you see FIMA villages set up still in grocery lot parking lots,” said Laurel Horne. These students took a well-deserved break and were able to visit the famous downtown New Orleans area while they were there.
Anyone interested in participating in an Alternative Spring Break for the 2008 school year, they can stop by the Community Service Learning Center in the fall and pick up an application.