This year, students will plan and lead the Sharks and Service (SAS) program run through the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement (SLCE) beginning with the Oct. 14-16 trip to Homestead.
SAS trips are weekend or weeklong service trips organized throughout the year by the SLCE office. Each experience focuses on a specific social issue and location.
Liz Mazorowicz, graduate assistant for civic engagement, said that previously staff in the SLCE office were responsible for planning trips, but decided to give students the power to plan so that trips reflected problems the students were concerned with.
“We want people to come out because they’re passionate about something,” said Mazorowicz. “Knowing that students care about the issues we are going to work with, I think, is going to make the trips really incredible.”
Previous trips include the summer SAS trip to Jamaica focused on education, the trip to New Orleans focused on disaster restoration and the trip to Key West focused on the environment.
Mariah Knowles, sophomore finance major, and Schae Maynard, senior environmental science major, planned the first SAS trip to Homestead. The trip will focus on wildlife, and students will work with the Everglades Outpost Wildlife Refuge and board in Saint Andrew’s Lutheran Church.
Maynard said that students will help with the refuge’s museum, although the exact nature of the work hasn’t been announced. Maynard says the work will be hands-on and students will also learn about the Everglades Outpost Wildlife Refuge work in the area.
Knowles said, “I think [student planned trips are] great. It gives us a more involved role in the process.”
She said that college is about becoming engaged with the school and the community, and planning the trips allow students to do so.
Kacey Crespo, freshman marine biology major, is one of the two site leaders for the October trip. Site leaders facilitate group discussions and bonding activities during the trip, which usually include reflection activities. Crespo said she learned about the opportunity to become a site leader through the UNIV 1000 class when a staff member gave a presentation. She then decided to apply for the position of site leader.
“I’m looking forward to being able to guide a group of people who may not know each other and get people more involved, while also helping them realize the importance of the environment,” said Crespo.
Mazorowicz said that she has finished hiring site leaders for this trip and has completed the training process. She said that in the future, site leaders will plan the individual trips they lead.
Eight students can participate in the trip, but the cost has not been determined yet. Knowles said that trips are fairly priced and cover housing, transportation and most meals. Participants in the Homestead trip will leave Oct. 14 and return Oct. 16. Students who are interested in attending can visit the Sharks and Service Orgsync page for more information.
Visual:
SAS Trips for the 2016-2017 School Year
Locations for each trip have not been announced yet.
October 14-16
December 11-17
January 13-15
March 5-11
May 7-13
