As a part of Sharks and Service (SAS) through the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement, serving the community has never been more accessible. In the past traditional SAS trips have taken place in person throughout the local community and the world, but now Healing the Planet: Effects of Global Change is one of the first SAS trips to take a new virtual hybrid format.
Each SAS trip focuses on a different social issue, and Healing the Planet aims to focus on different topics connected to climate change and its effects on the planet. These topics include forest fires, global warming, ocean pollution and more.
“The goal for the global climate change group is that they are going to learn about a variety of different factors that are affecting global climate change, from forest fires, global warming, plastic pollution and lots of different things. The way they are going to do that is through the site leader education, but we have also invited community partners to join the group virtually so they can learn about it,” explained Concetta D’Alessio, assistant director of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement.
Healing the Planet is an experience that is split up into three sessions participating students are required to attend. The sessions take place on three consecutive Saturdays, starting Jan. 30 at 10 a.m., focusing on the educational aspect of the trip. In addition, participants will take part in two designated service projects as a part of the trip. As a final added bonus, students who successfully complete this trip are eligible to receive one ExEL unit in community engagement.
D’Alessio emphasized the importance of having a SAS trip such as this during these turbulent times.
“We wanted to still give students an option to engage. I think it’s important that social issues don’t stop in the midst of a pandemic. If anything, it’s kind of interesting to see how the pandemic has affected these social issues in different ways, especially with global climate change. In the news you’ll see how single-use masks have affected ocean pollution and things like that, so we are trying to still incorporate the pandemic and how that has affected some of these social issues,” said D’Alessio.
Occurring simultaneously to Healing the Planet, SAS is also hosting a trip focusing on the social issue of immigration. For students interested in getting involved later in the semester, in March and April, there will be two additional trips, one on hunger and homelessness and the other on education.
D’Alessio also mentioned the success of this new model of SAS trips, and as such, SAS is discussing the continuation of this model for next semester and possibly beyond.
Monique Reto, a junior double major in elementary and exceptional student education and one of the site leaders for Healing the Planet, said, “If you’re looking to make a difference and learn more about global climate, get closer to your community, do some service and meet other NSU Sharks, it is a great opportunity.”
“While it is different this year, we still have a really cool opportunity for students who may be at home for the semester and couldn’t make it to campus but still want to make friends and connections on campus. I have made some really good friends through SAS and it’s probably one of the reasons why I have been so successful here,” said Mitchell Garrabrant, a junior history major and the second site leader for Healing the Planet.
Students interested in taking part in Healing the Planet should RSVP as soon as possible on the SAS SharkHub page as registration is on a first come basis and space is limited. Students who may have missed their opportunity for this trip can keep their eye out for the upcoming trips later in the semester and still have a chance to make a positive impact in their community despite current circumstances.
