Emily Kim Participated in Spring Break Service Trip to North Carolina

2017 Apr 5

Emily Kim , a junior biology major from Fairmont , and nine other Buena Vista University participants took part 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 treating injured animals in Hubert, N.C.

The BVU participants volunteered at Possumwood Acres, a non-profit wildlife sanctuary that specializes in the rehabilitation, care and treatment of injured animals. The BVU participants' first stop was Lynnwood Park Zoo in Jacksonville, N.C., where they helped sand zoo paths, feed monkeys and educate visitors about the animals.

Next, the group headed to Possumwood Acres where they fed and tended to sick or injured animals, helped with projects around the facility and learned the daily routines of the sanctuary. In addition, the participants had the opportunity to learn about and experience the culture of the area by taking a boat to Shackleford Banks, which is a barrier island located off the coast of North Carolina and is known for its wild horse population.

Advisors for the trip included Dr. Ashley Farmer-Hanson, assistant dean for student life and director of civic engagement, and Jamie Schoenherr, instructor of exercise science at BVU.

AWOL has sent more than 729 volunteers and completed an estimated 33,756 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.

To ensure the AWOL program's long-term impact on the student and the Storm Lake community, students research their service areas, identify a local need, serve to understand it better and address it using new skills learned on their AWOL trips and engaging in local service projects.

Four AWOL trips took place this year, with 40 BVU students, faculty and staff participating. The other trips focused on sustainable social and economic development in Los Fierros, Nicaragua; tackling poverty and serving youth in Eagle Butte, S.D.; and social, economic, environmental and racial justice issues in New Orleans.