Sarah Mackey Participated in Spring Break Service Trip to Florida

2016 Apr 29

Sarah Mackey, a junior mathematics and computer science major from Center Point, and nine other Buena Vista University students participated in an AWOL (Alternative Week of Off-site Learning) trip during spring break, enabling them to volunteer their time and service in Deland, Fla., with a focus on training canine companions for those with disabilities.

The BVU students volunteered at My Angels With Paws (MAWP), a volunteer-based non-profit in Deland, Fla., that trains dogs to help people with disabilities live fuller, more independent lives. The dogs are in training for up to two years in a variety of areas, including mobility, balance brace, seizure response and PTSD. The BVU participants were hands-on taking care of and working with the dogs, including being responsible for their grooming, feeding, care, and obedience and some situation training. Their training involved helping the dogs become used to working with different people and exposing them to various experiences and locations that they might encounter with their forever partner. The group also helped with projects around the facility, such as putting up a fence for a new kennel and building gates for a new dog run.

Advisors for this experience were Lori Berglund, assistant director of career and personal development at BVU, and Donna Musel, director of BVU's Center for Academic Excellence.

"Our week was exhausting in the best possible way! The students exceeded the organization's expectations on every task and project they were given," said Berglund. "One of the things I love most about my job is the opportunity AWOL provides for fostering relationships through service learning experiences with BVU students."

AWOL has sent more than 689 volunteers and completed an estimated 30,366 hours of service worldwide, furthering its mission to immerse BVU 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.

Three AWOL trips took place this year, with 30 BVU students participating. The other trips focused on inner-city poverty outreach in Washington D.C. and environmental conservation in Las Marias, Puerto Rico.