By Jonas Miller
Opinion Editor
There’s a serious case of Spring break fever goin’ around, so make sure your shots are up to date, grab your bathing suits, and let’s do some community service!
“Wait, did he say…community service?”
Hell yeah I did! I can think of no better way to spend my spring break than by paying back to society, and helping those in need! This year the college is sending 40+ rose buds across the country to San Francisco, New Orleans, and West Palm Beach to do various acts of community service for the week we have off from school.
Some of you might be hearing of this for the first time, and that’s cool. A lot of students aren’t aware of the opportunities that are right underneath their noses, so I’ve made it my responsibility to inform them.
The first trip I’ll speak on, the one I’m going on, is to West Palm Beach, Florida. Since 2001, Saint Rose has been sending students down the coast, teaming up with the Paint Your Heart Out program. The students spend their days in the sun painting houses, using recycled paint donated to them by Paint Your Heart Out. The students usually paint 3 or 4 hours that belong to people with disabilities or elderly citizens that would otherwise have to go without a fresh coat of paint on their house because they are unable to do it themselves. The leader of this trip is Addison Todd; she is a sophomore here at the college who majors in communication sciences and disorders.
The second leader this year, also a sophomore, is Alycia Little, a forensic psych major here at Saint Rose. Alycia will be leading a group of 15 dedicated students waayyy out to San Francisco to work with a church based foundation, doing work in on of the most poverty ridden communities west of the Mississippi. After each long day of work the students gather together and reflect on what they witnessed or experienced that day. Topics such as poverty, diversity, and homelessness will be discussed during the reflections, providing a very hands-on learning experience for the students.
Last but certainly not least is the trip down to New Orleans, headed by Meghan Mallon, a music education major. After going on this same trip last year as just an average joe looking to help out, she now leads the group of 13 students in helping the slow rebuild of the cities lower ninth ward. This neighborhood is one of the areas that got hit the worst by Hurricane Katrina, a decade ago. This trip is an especially eye opening because of the time lapse between Katrina and now, and the fact that there is still so much work to be done. High praise to the students making the trip this year, as it will surely be a memorable one.
If any of what I just talked about sounds interesting to you, don’t refrain from asking any of the three leaders about their trips! Community service is something that you can do at any age. I encourage you to apply for any of these trips next year, and to seek out community service elsewhere in the Albany area or even at home. In honor of MLK week here at the college, I’ll leave you with this quote by Dr. King himself. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing to help others?’” I know my answer, what’s yours?
