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Group of students at alternative spring break.

Alternative Spring Break

Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is a weeklong service opportunity during the University's Spring Break in which participants travel to help meet a need in a community. Since becoming a student organization in 2000, nearly 1,000 students have participated in ASB.

Participants examine the root causes of the social issues they work with through pre-trip education and reflection during the trip. Students meet with their team approximately five times prior to departure in March and two times after the trip. Past participants have helped Hurricane Katrina victims by working with KaTREEna in New Orleans, built homes with Habitat for Humanity in Georgia, served individuals leaving the prison system in Texas, cleaned the Mississippi River through Living Lands and Waters, and more.

Students will also enjoy one free day during their trip to enjoy the sites in their host city or in a city they travel through. This structure allows students to get to know a community and its residents on a deeper level to have a lasting impact!

Bus groups typically include 45 total participants with six student leaders and three staff trip advisors on board.

Participants learn lessons in compassion and service that cannot be taught in the classroom alone, as well as the value of serving individuals, families, and communities in need. Students will bond with other participants and form new relationships from the moment they attend Reveal to find out which trip they are on.

2024 Trips

Applications for 2024 Alternative Spring Break Trips open on November 1st 2023 and close on November 30th 2023.

NEW: All Alternative Breaks international participants must have a recommendation form filled out on their behalf. This recommendation can be filled out by any faculty member, staff member, or student staff member (example: RA  or student manager) at ISU or from another school or workplace. Please send this link: https://forms.office.com/r/ez4Ehwct1Y to someone on campus you think could recommend you for Alternative Breaks!

Applications will be evaluated based on a rubric including attitude, teamwork, growth, and cultural competency. Please be thoughtful in your responses.

Trip options:

Fees

See our Costs and Payment page for information about trip costs, fee discounts, and our financial responsibility policy.