Students highlight their experience with alternative breaks and how it has impacted not only them but communities they serve.
Alternative Break experiences are service based learning experiences that invite students to explore domestic and global social issues in a different place. This opportunity is a way to make your break from academics a positive and meaningful experience. It is also an incredible way to meet new people and expand your personal Elon bubble with people who share the same passion for service.
Madeleine Seburn ’26 was a participant in the Alternative Break experience last spring that traveled to Puerto Rico.
“I was so surprised by how much I got out of this experience and how many connections I made with other Elon students,” Suburb said. “It was one of the highlights of my freshman year and I could not recommend an alternative break enough.”
There are a variety of different experiences that all have different service focuses. The Alternative Break experiences this fall semester are focused on food injustice and environmental sustainability while traveling to cool places in North Carolina like Asheville and Wilmington. These trips are close to home and will create immersive service-learning experiences that students will never forget.
The spring Alternative Break experiences also have numerous service focus points. These trips will focus on community development, refugee resettlement and support, environmental sustainability, land stewardship, food justice and climate action. Since these experiences are longer in length, they are based in Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia, Berkeley California, and Costa Rica. All these service opportunities and travel to new places allow for students to flourish and connect with themselves, the group, and a new place all while making an impact.
Rane Parr ’24 is a student coordinator in the alternative breaks program and is a student leader on the upcoming spring alternative break experience traveling to Charleston, South Carolina focused on environmental sustainability.
When asked to describe what they got out of their alternative breaks experience, Parr said, “I got started with alt breaks in my sophomore year when I wanted to get more experience in my field of study [environmental science] as a participant. It turned into more than that when my perspectives were challenged, and I developed a passion for service that extended beyond the breaks.
“As a coordinator, I enjoy seeing participants transform their ways of thinking and develop their own passions through the breaks as I had, and it’s important to me to facilitate that effectively. As a director,I hope to use my experience as a participant and coordinator to foster meaningful experiences for everyone involved. What’s learned on Alternative Breaks continues even after the experience and leads to more meaningful relationships within and outside the Elon community,” Parr added.
Alternative Break experiences are planned in the Kernodle Center for Civic Life. If you have any questions about these experiences or how to get involved, please email Assistant Director of the Kernodle Center Andrew Moffa at amoffa@elon.edu.
Applications for the Alternative Break experience can be found here.