Abington students play chess with a homeless man in Washington, D.C., during the annual spring break service trip.
Penn State Abington students spent spring break service trips in two different cities but all emerged with new perspectives and a renewed sense of gratitude and purpose. It was an awakening to the world around them.
They helped workers with disabilities tend fields and repaired buildings inundated with 18 feet of water from Hurricane Katrina. And they absorbed the resilience of people still struggling to rebuild their lives and the iconic city of New Orleans nine years after the storm.
Another group of students labored for hours preparing meals, then had the pleasure of forging connections with the hungry and the homeless in Washington, D.C. And they struggled with the dichotomy of so many people struggling to live in one of the most powerful cities in the world.
Although the two groups of Penn State Abington students spent the annual spring break service trips in different cities, they all emerged with new perspectives and a renewed sense of gratitude and purpose. The students also discovered the culture, the regional foods, and the touristy photo ops, but they awakened to the world around them.
Their Facebook posts throughout the week were revealing: "We all were certainly out of our comfort zone...Happy to be making a difference and learning so much along the way...So excited to spend days doing service for people who keep moving forward against all odds."
Experience Abington's Alternative Spring Break on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/AlternativeSpringBreakPennStateAbington
