With sunshine abounding, the weather hitting the 70s this past week, and the school year in its final weeks, most students have shifted their focus toward the summer. A small number of service-minded students, however, are still thinking about their spring breaks, unable and unwilling to forget their experiences.
This past Wednesday, an intimate group of Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trip participants gathered in Daggett Lounge to share their trip experiences and unite in their commitments for service. The event was facilitated by Caitlin MacDonald, coordinator of community service programs at the Community Service Resource Center (CSRC), who concluded the night by asking participants to complete the phrase, "I commit to?" as a declaration of carrying on the lessons they encountered on respective ASB trips.
Jenny Cook '07 reflected on her ASB trip to Washington D.C., saying, "[The trip] opened my eyes to all the different options and causes to fight for."
"I will commit to finding a cause that's important to me and incorporating it as a lifelong concern," she added.
While some commitments focused on the road ahead, others were allegiances to the past, like that of Sarah Begin '05 of the Nicaragua trip.
"I commit to never forgetting that sometimes the simplest gestures can mean the most and also that water balloon fights never go out of style even in countries with a clean water shortage," Begin said.
The ASB program has grown from two CSRC sponsored trips last year to five trips this year. That growth, coupled with the persistent commitment of student participants, has been encouraging for many.
Chris Knight '07, who participated in the D.C. trip last year and led the trip this year, said, "From my first year here until now, I have seen the spirit of service in its initial parts of development and it's really exciting to see this movement take form."
For him, the ASB program has led to a renewed commitment for strengthening the "common good" and making it a part of every day life on campus.
"Bowdoin has this abstract notion of the 'common good' and this idea that education shouldn't be for personal gain, but for the betterment of the community," he explained. "But it's not implemented in every day life here; it's more of an idea than a reality. I'm interested in making the "common good" a very real part of Bowdoin culture."
Already, those dedicated to serving the 'common good' through Alternative Spring Break trips are planning for the coming year. Applications for ASB leaders are due by Monday, May 2 to the CSRC. Next Wednesday, CSRC staff and former ASB leaders will be available at the Center for a drop-in help session from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. for all students interested in becoming ASB leaders and continuing Bowdoin's tradition of service for the "common good."