Carlee Brown of Harrisonville, Mo. Participates in Spring Break Service Trip

2014 Apr 30

Twelve Buena Vista University (BVU) students participated in an AWOL (Alternative Week of Off-site Learning) trip during spring break, enabling them to volunteer their time and service with a focus on hunger and health outreach in Staten Island, N.Y.

BVU students traveled to Staten Island, N.Y., where they partnered with two organizations. Project Hospitality focuses on hunger, homelessness and outreach to individuals with HIV/AIDS, and Tunnels2Towers concentrates on Hurricane Sandy relief work. Students completed a remodeling project on a home affected by the storm and worked at a food pantry, stocking shelves and helping people shop. After a workshop for people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, students served and shared meals with people affected by the disease at the Positive Living Dinner event.

Carlee Brown from Harrisonville, Mo. participated in the trip. Brown is a junior criminology and criminal justice major at BVU.

Advisors for the experience were Ken Meissner, director of spiritual life and Mark Shea, director of student success at BVU, and student site leaders for the trip were Caitlin Bach, a senior biology major from Bondurant and Caitlin Hoffman, a senior communication studies major from Sioux City.

"For me and most of the students, the most memorable moments were the interactions we had with people we met during the Positive Living Dinner," said Shea. "We had an opportunity to hear their stories and understand the issues they face every day. It helped us all take a look at our own lives in comparison to someone facing much greater challenges than we are."

"AWOL service trips help students realize that they cannot always transform social issues alone, but they can make a difference by taking some face-to-face and heart-to-heart time with others," said Meissner. "Through an open understanding with people who don't share our experiences, each of us can capture a glimpse of authentic compassion that can transform the dynamics between strangers. And when we're no longer strangers, we can work together to address the issues and problems we face today."

AWOL has sent over 500 volunteers and completed nearly 18,000 hours of service worldwide, furthering its mission to immerse students in different cultures, heighten social awareness and advocate life-long social action through service on a local, regional and international level.

Four AWOL trips took place this year, with over 40 BVU students participating. The other trips focused on children and poverty in Montego Bay, Jamaica; disaster relief and clean-up efforts in Greeley, Colo.; and environmental research and animal rescue in Costa Rica. Information about the additional AWOL trips can be found on BVU's website at www.bvu.edu/news.

About Buena Vista University

Buena Vista graduates have a 97 percent rate of employment or admission to graduate/professional schools within six months of graduation, which reflects the quality of the academic programs, faculty, facilities and cutting-edge technology. Forty-three majors and 15 pre-professional programs provide an array of academic options that blend the liberal arts with real-world applications. Generous merit and need-based financial aid programs, and support for academic travel, research, and internships, make BVU an affordable option for all students.