Learn. Serve. Grow. While many Jaguars visited home, hung out with friends or worked over fall break, a small team of students were volunteering in Detroit as part of IU Indianapolis’s Alternative Break program.
What is Alternative Break
This unique opportunity offers students a chance to travel somewhere in the Midwest to create positive, sustainable change. All Alternative Breaks are planned and led by students who are inspired to use this time off school to understand social issues neighboring communities face.
This year, Alternative Break Co-Coordinators Medha Kulkarni and Zhen Hong Tan chose the theme of environmental sustainability and justice and worked with service partners like Greening Detroit, Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, Rippling Hope and Calvary UMC.
Making an impact
The trip is an eye-opening experience that educates and challenges students to go outside of their comfort zone.
“During the trip, I had the opportunity to plant trees and help in urban agriculture for the first time in my life,” Tan said.
Several trip-goers see changes within themselves throughout the program. “My first Alternative Break trip in fall 2019 was the best experience I’ve ever had and went on to shape my college career and what I’m involved with on campus,” said Kulkarni, who is also a Social Justice Scholar.
“Our work has a massive influence not only on the people we work for, but on ourselves. Connecting with your peers via something as unique as service and adventure is fantastic,” she said.
New friends and fun memories
Serving alongside other students who are also interested in social change quickly turns strangers into friends – making Alternative Break programs a great way to meet new people.
“I started at IU Indianapolis in January of 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its worst, so I didn’t have many chances to meet new people who have the same interests and passions as I do,” Tan said.
“Alternative Breaks provided me with the opportunity to do so. This year’s participants had really high energy levels. We had a great time chatting or playing games each night and got to know each other well.”
Kulkarni also came away from this year’s trip with lasting memories. “I made friends with an incredible cohort. We all bonded on the car ride to Detroit, cooked Indian food together and were excited to see the U.S.-Canadian border.”
Creating change on campus
What was learned on Alternative Break didn’t just stay in Detroit. Students returned to campus with new insights and applied lessons and experiences from the trip to their everyday lives.
“Being an RA for the Women in Science House, I am taking the initiative to reduce paper by finding different ways to effectively distribute event information,” Kulkarni said.
“This trip reinforced my perspectives on countering environmental racism and speaking up when I feel like something is wrong.”
Students can apply to be part of an Alternative Break trip each fall and spring semester. Follow @jagbreak on Instagram for trip recaps and details on when applications will open for future trips.
*All images are from this fall’s trip and were supplied by Madha Kulkarni and Zhen Hong Tan.
