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 Michigan Tech student in good academic and conduct standing. 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.
"Very rarely will you have the opportunity to travel to a new city for Spring Break to do something with the community at a low cost. On ASB, you get to dip your toes in the waters and explore ways you can give back to the community in only a week's time! This trip brought with it many learning experiences (using power tools, travel tips, communication skills) and so many new and awesome friendships. From listening to silly music during our car rides to laying on the living room floor watching Pitch Perfect after a long day on the build site to taking turns using a jackhammer to break up a concrete slab, no time was wasted. You will not regret going on an ASB trip, I can guarantee it."
"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."
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 could be, please email us at huskyhelpers@mtu.edu.
Alternative Spring Break 2027
Student Leadership and Involvement is excited to host two ASB trips next year. Details about each trip will be highlighted in the drop-downs below in the fall and participant applications will open in mid-October.
In the meantime, click the button below to be emailed as soon as applications open and scroll down to read about our past ASB trips!
Past Alternative Spring Break Trips
In 2026, Student Leadership and Involvement coordinated two ASB trips:
Bel Air - Affordable Housing
Eight students traveled to Bel Air, Maryland, in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna through the Collegiate Challenge program, providing them with a meaningful opportunity to support affordable housing initiatives. Throughout the week, they worked at a Habitat house construction site, volunteered at a local Habitat ReStore, and served meals at Our Daily Bread. The group also explored downtown Baltimore.
New Orleans - Environmental Sustainability
Nine students traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana, in collaboration with NetWork Volunteers, providing them with a meaningful opportunity to engage in environmental sustainability efforts while immersing themselves in the New Orleans community. Throughout the week, the group volunteered at a native plant nursery, helped sort and recycle paint, and sorted donated textiles for reuse, supporting local environmental and waste-reduction initiatives.
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 served 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 rainforest 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.
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.
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.
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.
