Many students at the University of Wisconsin wish to travel and volunteer. Unfortunately, many do not know where to turn to find opportunities and often get turned off by the hunt. For the first time in recent history, all the service travel organizations at UW are being brought together to showcase the work they have done off-campus. The Inaugural Service Travel Symposium, hosted by WUD-Alternative Breaks, is meant to give students a chance to learn about the exciting ways they can get involved, travel and see what their peers have been doing.
From the students who venture to the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers on the weekends to clear invasive species, to the engineering students who design rainwater catchment systems in Rwanda during the summer, to the UW alumni who serve two years in the Peace Corps, all student groups are being brought together.
The timing of the Inaugural Service Travel Symposium could not be better. Interest in service travel has been on the rise. Particularly in lieu of the recession, service travel poses an opportunity for students to travel the world on a tight budget and experience it in a way they might otherwise never had. This spring, Alternative Breaks experienced a three-fold increase in applications and expects the number of applications to keep climbing.
“Volunteering and traveling has certainly been coming into vogue in recent years. However, students are often unaware of all their options,” said Alt Breaks director Ali Loker as she poured over a record-breaking amount of spring break applications. “By hosting STS we hope students will become more knowledgeable.”
In addition to a massive list of co-sponsors – AmeriCorps, Peace Corps and the UW Landscape Architecture Department, to name a few – entertainment and refreshments are being provided to enrich the STS experience. Regional dishes and music from the area’s UW volunteers have traveled to will be provided to expose students to new cultures.
“We really want to make this Service Travel Symposium as much of a celebration as an informative event,” Jay Ekleberry, Alternative Breaks advisor, said after the committee meeting. “Students always want to get involved. This will be a great way for them to learn how.”
The Service Travel Symposium has already garnered much attention and was featured in the UW Alumni Newsletter, Morgridge Mail and a number of grant organizations. The Inaugural Service Travel Symposium will occur April 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the newly opened Union South’s Varsity Hall.
Dorota Kopczyk ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in international studies and economics and is the assistant director for WUD-Alternative Breaks.