One week transformed a handful of students who traveled, learned, and served on this year’s Alternative Spring Break trip. Students cleaned up the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee alongside Living Lands and Water, a nonprofit responsible for removing over 10 million pounds of garbage from American rivers.
“There was a jaw-dropping amount of styrofoam, plastic bottles, tires, and more that had washed up on the shores we were cleaning. It really puts into perspective just how careless we can be with what we throw away, and how we dispose of it,” notes Abi Riedel ’27, an environmental science and sustainability major with an energy and society minor. “The sooner we realize that everything is connected in our environment, the sooner we can work on forming sustainable, long-lasting solutions that will benefit all of us.”
These annual Alternative Spring Break trips are a meaningful way for students to spend their time away from campus by participating in service-learning experiences that address social, environmental, or community issues. The student expense for the trip is $100, including transportation, housing, and food, and it is coordinated through the Office of Community Engagement, which offers scholarships to select students.
Wendy Kedzierski, director of Creek Connections says she looks forward to the yearly trip.
“I do it year after year because I get to spend time with the best Allegheny College students,” says Kedzierski. “We work as a team all week from start to finish. I love getting to know the students and working alongside them cleaning the Mississippi River.”
Past Alternative Spring Break trip locations have ranged from Vermont to Louisiana, and they all focus on a particular issue, allowing students to serve in different parts of the country.
Alizabeth Atkison ’26, a biology major with a psychology minor, reflects on the trip, “We need better systems of recycling and disposal. The trash seems never ending, and can be very daunting. With the help of motivated individuals, we were able to combat this and clean up what we could — making steps towards a cleaner, safer environment is better together, rather than alone!”
Don’t miss out on making a positive impact with other Gators through service and civic engagement.
