Spring Break Idea
November seems a strange time to be thinking about Spring Break, I know, but there is a good reason for it. There is a fantastic opportunity for students to embrace our Pro Humanitate motto by doing an alternative to the traditional beach party Spring Break that is so often associated with college.
I am sharing an email below about Wake Alternative Break, which provides a meaningful way for students to connect with each other and to causes associated with the common good. This would be a fantastic opportunity for students to bond over a shared experience and a good cause. Hope you will consider passing this information to your Deacs!
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Hello colleagues,
I am pleased to share that the Wake Alternative Break (WAB) application for Spring 2015 service trips is LIVE! We have an exciting lineup of 12 sites this year and a great group of student leaders joining our faculty/staff leaders to develop these exciting opportunities for our community. Additionally, these WAB trips represent efforts in collaboration as the Pro Humanitate Institute and Volunteer Service Corps have partnered with the Office of the Chaplain, LGBTQ Center, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and ZSR library to support these trips.
The application can be found here and will be open until January 20th. On November 11th, VSC is hosting an interest meeting to provide information and answer questions about the WAB program for interested students at 5pm in Pugh Auditorium.
I hope that you will share this opportunity with students in your networks. In preparation for that, I wanted to share a few pieces of information about the WAB program to ease your conversations with students about these opportunities. All of this information is also shared on the application.
– WAB has existed at Wake Forest for 15 years. In the last 5 years, we have more than doubled the number of trips available to students and shifted their focus away from direct service to critical engagement with social issues. WAB leaders undergo a rigorous training process in the Spring to prepare them to lead in this more complex environment.
– The mission of WAB is to facilitate service in the community, connect participants to each other, encourage experiential learning around a social issue, and inspire participants to return to campus motivated to positively impact their university, local, national, and international communities.
– A primary goal of WAB is to create an experience that is not mitigated by a student’s financial resources. As a result,financial assistance is available for WAB trips through VSC. Both monetary and extended payment plans are available to students. However, students must contact me directly by the January 20th deadline to discuss their need. This is done as a separate step in the application process in order to preserve the selection process as need-blind.
Thank you again for your partnership and support in sharing this with our students,
Shelley
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Shelley Graves Sizemore ’06, ’09
Assistant Director
Pro Humanitate Institute