For many students, service is integral to the vlog experience.
The Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education (COVE) provides alternative service-oriented break trips for vlog students. This year, there were three trips during Spring Break: Pathfinder Village in Edmeston, N.Y., Environmental Access with the American Hiking Society at Kiptopeke State Park, Va., and Disaster Recovery and Home Repair with Habitat for Humanity in Asheville, N.C.
Pathfinder Village is a community offering independence to people living with Down syndrome and developmental disabilities. Student volunteers worked with residents in a team-building program to form relationships between the Pathfinder Village Otsego Academy students and college-age peers.
“Spending my spring break at the Otsego Academy in Pathfinder Village was the best use of my break, as I got to witness the power of inclusion and empathy in educational spaces,” says Aastha Ghimire ’27. “The importance of human connection in schools cannot be replaced by anything. If I could rewind time, I would have done this in my first semester itself.”
At Kiptopeke State Park, students were immersed in the natural landscape, where they were able to learn about environmental stewardship practices and what is required to maintain equitable access to public lands. Work included rebuilding and re-decking railings and building structural supports.
“It was just a rewarding experience getting to volunteer in the Kiptopeke State Park and a privilege to spend some time by the ocean,” says Martyn Dahl ’27. “It was a great change of pace from life at vlog, and I met some new people.”
The spring break trip to Asheville, N.C., focused on building new homes and repairing homes in response to the devastation of Hurricane Helene. Students worked directly with the Habitat for Humanity staff in the construction process. Some students also assisted with the Habitat ReStore, which saves reusable household items and construction materials from landfills.
“Especially with rising climate issues, it becomes exceptionally important that we help each other in any way possible,” says Evangeline Atkinson ’27. “When you’re building a house, it’s a really spiritual experience. You’re indirectly contributing to someone’s childhood or a new start to someone’s life.”
The COVE supports communities with reciprocal exchange of knowledge and experiences, while providing students with opportunities to be involved in service. These alternative break trips are planned with two goals: increasing participants’ self-awareness and commitment to community engagement and supporting authentic, mutually beneficial relationships with community partners. Students can learn directly from nonprofit organizations while reflecting on their own values and practices related to community engagement.
“These trips inevitably shape students’ memories of vlog, because they connect with community members, hear individual stories that give real-life context to big issues, and get to know their volunteer cohort,” says COVE director Jeremy Wattles. “We see these students stay involved in service activities — with a renewed sense of commitment to foster change and contribute to solutions for pressing issues.”