One of my favorite involvements at Emmanuel is Alternative Spring Break (ASB). ASB is such an amazing and empowering experience in which we are able to continue serving a community in need while building our EC community as well. Students from every class year, along with staff members, have the opportunity to travel during Spring Break to serve communities in Phoenix, New Orleans, Houston and Boston/Western MA in a variety of ways.

The Houston and New Orleans trips work with an Americorps organization called SBP, which focuses on disaster relief and recovery by helping to rebuild homes in the wake of natural disasters. The Phoenix trip focuses on assisting the homeless community with the St. Vincent de Paul Society through volunteering in shelters and soup kitchens. The Boston/Western MA trip focuses on helping our community right here in Massachusetts with food insecurity by working with community partners. I had the opportunity to go to NOLA during my first year, and I returned each year as one of the student leaders. This experience each year has opened my eyes to struggles that I am privileged not to have to face everyday, but seeing the solutions that are in action are so inspiring, as well as the community that we serve. I have made so many amazing connections with my fellow EC people as well as the people that we were serving. I highly recommend applying for ASB because it has truly been a defining part of my EC experience.