Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is an experiential learning opportunity that promotes
service-learning and community building. Students participate in education, direct
service, and reflection in order to become engaged members of their communities.
Alternative Spring Break is open to any student in good academic and conduct standing
at the University. You do not need previous experience in service or on campus to
participate. Each trip seeks to have students from a wide variety of backgrounds and
experiences.
Each year we look for new and unique opportunities to combine the spring break experience
with service learning. If you have an idea for what our next spring break trip should
entail, or you are interested in attending an Alternative Spring Break trip, please
let us know by emailing huskyhelpers@mtu.edu.
Alternative Spring Break 2026
Student Leadership and Involvement is excited to host two Alternative Spring Break
trips this year! Details about each trip are highlighted in the drop downs below.
Applications for both trips will open on Monday, October 13th at 8:00 AM. The priority
deadline for applications is Wednesday, November 12th. Following the priority deadline,
applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all spots are filled.
Environmental Sustainability - New Orleans, Louisiana
In collaboration with NetWork Volunteers, this Alternative Spring Break trip will travel to New Orleans, Louisiana, to support
projects focused on environmental sustainability.
This trip will depart early on Friday, February, 27 in two Michigan Tech minivans.
Participants will stay at a house near the volunteer site. Most meals will be prepared
and provided by the group itself. Immersion experiences, educational opportunities,
and group reflection will be incorporated throughout the week. The group will depart
from New Orleans on Saturday, March 7th and return to campus the following day.
This trip can accommodate up to nine students. Due to support from the Student Activity Fee, this trip will cost $500 per student which includes all food, travel, accommodations,
and program materials.
Affordable Housing - Bel Air, Maryland
In collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna, this Alternative Spring Break trip will travel to Bel Air, Maryland, to help provide
affordable housing opportunities. As part of the Collegiate Challenge program, participants will contribute by assisting in home construction projects and volunteering
at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, directly supporting families in need of safe and
stable housing.
This trip will depart early on Friday, February, 27 in two Michigan Tech minivans.
Participants will stay in an Airbnb near the volunteer site. Most meals will be prepared
and provided by the group itself. Immersion experiences, educational opportunities,
and group reflection will be incorporated throughout the week. The group will depart
from Maryland on Saturday, March 7th and return to campus the following day.
This trip can accommodate up to nine students. Due to support from the Student Activity Fee, this trip will only cost $500 per student which includes on-site food, travel, accommodations,
and program materials.
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DO IT! I have recommended these trips to so many people because I love them so much.
You go on these trips not knowing the majority of the students, and come back with
new friends. You get the opportunity to fully immerse yourself in something so new
and unfamiliar. You get to meet people in different cultures, live where they live,
do what they do, and provide resources to them. I have come home from these trips
mesmerized by the experience, and beyond grateful.
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Olivia Luke '25Biomedical Engineering Student
Past Alternative Spring Breaks
In 2025, Student Leadership and Involvement coordinated two alternative spring break
trips. The domestic trip was in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver.
The team of nine students worked at the local Rebuild Store, at a home build project,
and serving a meal at the Denver Rescue Mission. The international trip was in collaboration
with Manna Project International. The group of ten students worked with community
organizers on trail maintenance projects, English classes, and youth programs. They
were even able to bring a little of Michigan Tech to this rain forest community and
teach the children the basics of water filtration.
In our post-survey following the trips, every participant would attend an Alternative
Spring Break trip in the future if they were able and would recommend Alternative
Spring Break to other students.
In 2024, Student Leadership and Involvement coordinated two alternative spring break
trips. The domestic trip focused on hurricane repair and shoreline cleanup in St.
Joe, Florida. The team of nine students worked alongside several local parks, including
TH Stone Memorial, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, and the Rish Recreation Area.
The international trip was in collaboration with the Community Collaborations International.
The team of ten students traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico to work with community
organizers on issues such as home repair, forest recovery, and youth development.
In 2023, Student Leadership and Involvement coordinated two alternative spring break
trips. Our domestic trip was focused on Indigenous Sovereignty and Horticulture in
collaboration with the Highland Support Project and Partners in Service. The team
of nine students traveled to Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ to work with the Apache Nation on
the White Mountain Apache Reservation. Our international trip traveled to Sanloqui,
Ecuador in collaboration with Manna Project International. The trip was focused on
community development and projects varied throughout the week.
Michigan Tech partnered with One Heartland in Willow River, Minnesota for our 2022
Alternative Spring Break trip. Since 1993, One Heartland has been creating life-changing
camp experiences for youth facing social isolation, intolerance, or serious health
challenges. Their camps provide a welcoming, bully-free environment where children,
youth, and young adults can feel completely accepted for who they are—often for the
first time in their lives.
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I love being able to help people, and I felt like I did that on this trip. We could
see the improvement and the impact we were making daily, and that was really nice
to see. I also loved all the tasks we did, building things, painting walls, moving
wood, and cleaning are all very fun and helpful.
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Some major takeaways I had from this trip were to be apart of more service and volunteer
opportunities in the future, the True Colors camp and everything that it embodies
(free space for LGBT+ children and the importance of that in today's communities),
the impact people can have on you from spending just a week with them, how big the
Mall of America actually is, and to take advantage of all the opportunities that may
come to you even if they may be nerve-racking.
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Michigan Tech partnered with NetWork Volunteers and Long Way Home to send students
to Houston, TX and Comalapa, Guatemala over Spring Break.
Students traveled to Houston, TX to engage in urban gardening and revitalization. They
worked with Plant It Forward Farms, Westbury Community Garden, and Target Hunger with
their weeding, planting, and preparations.
The students that traveled to Comalapa, Guatemala to further the building of an off-the-grid
earthquake resistant home utilizing green building techniques.
Michigan Tech partnered with NetWork Volunteers and Long Way Home to send students
to New Orleans, LA and Comalapa, Guatemala over Spring Break.
Students traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana spending the week working on various projects
from garden beautification to musical revitalization. During their time volunteering,
the group was able to deposit over 100 bags of mulch, move over 200 pounds of recycled
metals, plant 15 trees, and sort 1 TON of Mardi Gras beads to be reused.
The students that traveled to Comalapa, Guatemala spent their time constructing an
off-the-grid earthquake resistant home utilizing green building techniques.
