7 Places You’ll Find Tech Students Besides Campus this Week

This week, many Georgia Tech students will leave campus to enjoy a week of vacation with family and friends. Other Tech students have decided to join together in an “alternative” spring break, giving back to both national and international communities.

A few places where Yellow Jackets are spending this week include:

Alternative Service Breaks (ASB)

Biloxi, Mississippi

Students participating in the ASB trip to Biloxi, Mississippi, will serve with HeadStart and the Boys and Girls Club to help improve childhood education. Georgia Tech students will spend the week tutoring area preschool students from low-income families in math and reading. These programs help make preschool education more affordable and motivate children academically from a young age.

Memphis, Tennessee

The ASB Memphis trip will work with the Mid South Food Bank. The Mid South Food Bank is dedicated to feeding those who are food insecure, meaning that they do not have access to enough food to meet basic needs. The food bank operates on food donations and monetary donations to meet the needs of families, children, and seniors in the region.

Jacksonville, Florida

The ASB group in Jacksonville will work with Habitat for Humanity to address issues in poverty housing. Habitat for Humanity of Jacksonville has housed more than 1,900 area families. Through Habitat for Humanity, low income families can find affordable, high-quality housing and receive assistance in becoming successful homeowners.

Taos, New Mexico

Students attending the ASB trip to Taos, New Mexico, will also work with Habitat for Humanity. This homebuilding project will be a unique learning experience for volunteers because the homes will be made using adobe bricks. Adobe bricks are distinctive to warm, dry climates and are made using organic earth materials. 

Trailblazers' Alternative Spring Break

Key Largo, Florida

The Traiblazers student group is headed to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Three days of the trip will be spent building endangered species habitats and cleaning beach areas. Students will also participate in a manatee swimming tour and a turtle hospital visit. The John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, established in 1963, was the first undersea park in the U.S.

Cumberland Island, Georgia

Another Trailblazers group will head to Cumberland Island, Georgia, one of the state’s 12 Barrier Islands. Students will spend time hiking through the forests and beaches, sea kayaking, and exploring wildlife on the island. The service aspect of this trip will include trail maintenance and trail mapping for Crooked River State Park. 

Campus Christian Fellowship

Juarez, Mexico

Twenty-five students will be traveling with Campus Christian Fellowship to Juarez, Mexico. During the week, students will build two houses through the organization Casas por Cristo. Each year Casas por Cristo works with more than 7,000 volunteers to turn empty lots into homes for families in need.