The Panhellenic community would like to recognize the volunteers who participated in this year's all-Greek Alternative Spring Break to Tampa, Florida. This was the first all-Greek Alternative Break trip to take place at NYU, and possibly the country.
This year's group consisted of eleven students of various organizations including the Panhellenic members Tara Andreas , Caitlin Juetten , Liane Naber, Kimberly Urko, Alicia Caticha, Stephanie Chen, and co-site leader Nadine Yang.
The aim of the trip was to mentor and tutor students at Bay Crest Elementary School, a public school for grades K-5 in Tampa Bay, Florida. From Monday to Friday, the volunteers split up into their assigned classrooms and helped out in any way they could. They read with students individually, played learning games with groups of students, made arts and crafts with the students
or helped them with their times tables. Each teacher at Bay Crest had different needs, but every volunteer walked into the classrooms with a smile and an open mind.
Even though only one of the volunteers was an education major, the other volunteers' duty to service and enthusiasm was enough to build strong bonds with the students and help with their learning. This powerful experience even inspired some volunteers to consider teaching in the future.
Not only did this trip empower many of the FSL volunteers, but it also allowed for numerous organizations of the community to convene and build relationships. Each day, after school, the participants shared experiences and discussed issues that they faced. By the end of the trip, the communication within the group truly portrayed how valuable community service is to Greek life at NYU.
More bonds were forged when the work-day was over.
On one afternoon, the group visited Clearwater Beach; and, although the temperature barely reached 70 (an unfortunate anomaly for Florida's Gulf Coast in March), they managed to enjoy themselves and get a large dosage of much needed Vitamin D. They also saw the Yankees beat the Houston Astros at a spring training game. On other days they explored the city of Tampa, shopped, cooked a BBQ feast and attended the school's fundraiser dinner.
By Friday, the volunteers were sad to leave--not only because they had 2-day drive back to NY ahead of them, but also because they would miss the children that they met. Surely a Caribbean trip for spring would have been memorable, but being responsible for a child's academic growth over the course of a week is nothing short of rewarding.
According to site leaders Zach Dugan and Nadine Yang, who coordinated this entire trip, they are planning to have another all-FSL Alternative Break next year, possibly over winter or spring break. All of this year's participants wish to encourage all NYU members of Greek Life to participate in this life-changing experience.
