Service-Learning at App State: An Alternative to Spring Break

Posted Sep. 17, 2015 at 12:16 p.m.

Each spring approximately 250 Appalachian State University students choose to participate in a service learning experience focused on sustainability, social justice issues and the environment. Catch students “creating community and giving back to others” in clips from a variety of 2015 Alternative Service Experiences.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

Transcript

Female student Voiceover: Every spring roughly 250 Appalachian State University students spend their spring break not on a beach but serving communities around the nation with a focus on sustainability, social justice issues and the environment.

Rachel Wilson, assistant professor Reich College of Education: “We really are here to work with the students who come to Appalachian. It’s useful as a faculty member to think about how can I get them personally invested in what I’m trying to get them to learn.”

Voiceover: So, why do App State students give up their spring break? Why do they participate in an Alternative Service Experience?

Female student 2: I think that the sole purpose that we as humans have is to create a community and to give back to others.

Male student: You can really learn so much about not only yourself but more importantly about how your actions affect everyone in the community.

Female student 3: And it expands your mind and lets you see other peoples’ viewpoint and how other people live.

Female student 4: But going actually somewhere and making a difference in the lives of someone that you can actually see. It’s an amazing feeling. It really does empower you.