Dickinsoncollegeservice Trips

DickinsonCollegeService Trips

Student Guide

As a first-year, I naturally questioned “my fit” and frankly first semester discouraged me a little. Left and right all I noticed were drunk jocks and catty girls. Though I began to find some good people before break, this trip has definitely reassured me that there are plenty more “real” people I have yet to find on campus. Many of the people here were strangers to me a week ago, and now, I feel like I’ve known them forever. Knowing that we all came from the same school instill not only comfort, but some pride, too. – Guatemala 2009 team member

I realized that it really did not matter whether we were putting in floor boards or tearing down walls, but any contribution we could give, even just giving up time to be there, means so much to those who were affected (by Hurricane Katrina). -Becky Kestenbaum, New Orleans 2008
She was 9 years old and she told me that the schools in the area were only for boys, so she was excited about the new school that we were building because she would finally learn how to read. I asked her how many siblings she had and told me she had eight brothers and four sisters. Seven of her brothers knew how to read and all of her sisters didn’t. That interview was the first time I felt that the trip to Guatemala was for something much bigger than myself. – Guatemala 09 team member

Personally, I believe that there truly is no better reward in life than to get a smile and a hug from a woman who has nothing, but appreciates everything. -Amanda Crabbe, New Orleans 2008

We went to Guatemala to build a school and have a part in spreading education to children we came to know and adore in seven days. But never did it cross my mind that in attempting to promote education, I would be educated in humanity. I always believed in the statement “we all smile in the same language” but I never knew what that meant; and I did not realize that the universal language also includes crying, playing, and working. Right now our group has a unique opportunity to take what we learned to educate others on the existence and importance of a common, global humanity. –Nell Etheredge, Guatemala 09

Even if they weren’t direct recipients or beneficiaries of our physical work, the fact that they saw a group of American kids working hard to change something for the better certainly made an impression on the community… -Cameron Kerr, Jamaica 2008

Create Change and Be Changed

Through Service Trips, students, faculty and staff exemplify what it means to engage the world and support a useful education. During this service experience, the Dickinson team will move beyond the limestone walls to engage with people of other cultures with differing access to resources and life experiences, in urban, rural or international settings. The environmentis often very different than life in Carlisle. For many students, this trip represents their first encounterwith a different culture.

Whether you are a first-timeror an experienced veteran, your experience on the service trip will hopefully challenge you as you make useful what you have learned in the classroom. As you live and work alongside otherstudents for many days,you will also hopefully find joy as you connect with your fellowDickinsonians. Thank you for your interest in service trips and your willingness to take an active role in seeking to engage and serve others.

Service Trips with a Purpose

A priority of Dickinson is to support students as they become engaged citizens and lay a foundation upon which students will continue to serve as leaders within their communities after graduation. Tied to engaged citizenship is the Student Developmentdivisional emphasis on challenging students to increase understanding and embrace complexity. Through service trips, students are supported to explore the depth of need within local communities in a variety of contexts. Dickinsonians who delve into this experience will bechallenged to listen and to share with persons outside of their normal peer group, and in doing so, will grow in their ability to support, encourage, and push each other towards a higher level of thinking and understanding. Each team will emerge from the experience with the ability to concretely connect service with academic class work, potential vocations, and life experiences, therebyenhancing their intellectuallife and increasing their social responsibility.

The students, and the staff members who accompany them, must be mindful of their role as ambassadors for Dickinson College and their obligation to uphold the Community Standards during the service experience. For more than a decade, service trips have been a part of the Dickinson experience. Two student-led groups have been instrumental in designing and implementing these trips, under the direction of the Office of Religious Life and Community Services. Alternative Spring BreakandServe the World offers a variety of service trips, ranging from weekend experience, Spring Break trips, and an international winter break trip.

Since January 2006, the Office has sponsored annual trips to the greater New Orleans area for relief work, creating strong connections with the area and volunteer organizations. Other previous locations have included New York City, Washington DC, Wheeling WV, Arizona, Jamaica, and Guatemala. Regardless of the destination, the common goal of each service trip is to immerse students and staff in a new community or a different culture, whether in the U.S. or abroad, in an effort to confront underlying societal needs through purposeful service and reflection.

Service Trip Outcomes

Service trips immerse students and staff in communities throughout the US and abroad to empower others to see their circumstances and help meet their needs without imposing our ideas and methods on others. Students will confront underlying societal needs by asking questions and seeking connections locally, within Carlisle, and from their hometowns. Before, during and after service trips students engage in intentional reflection to clarify values, seek connection to academic work, and enhance their identities as engaged citizens.

Learning Objectives

• Understanding of self within issues of class, race, privilege, and cultural context.
• Recognize needs of a different population, both culturally and physically, and assist local partners to meet and understand those needs through service.
• Develop an understanding of the group process and learn to live and work collaboratively beside individuals with differing perspectives and experiences representing many subsets of campus.
• Reflect on this experience through pre trip meetings learning about the culture of site, during trip integrating service with past experiences and class projects, and after trip through questions of different values encountered, impact on personal values, and vocation discernment.

More Than Just Fun

Going on a service trip is more than just a great time away from campus with other Dickinsonians, although it is that too. Service trips are a time to meet others from all areas of campus who are interested in helping those in other communities and sharing our hope for a better future for everyone. Beyond the commodore, students who have participated in past service trips remark the following:

Top three things learned while on the service trip

• 54.0% (34)Increased your interest/commitment to community engagement beyond the trip
• 54.0% (34) Deepened your understanding of self within issues of class/race/privilege/culture
• 52.4% (33) Met people from another group on campus you would not normally know
• 47.6% (30)Expanded your view of another community

Dickinson is foremost concerned with supporting the education of the classroom with experiences in the larger community to provide a useful education that will go with you when you leave the limestone walls here in Carlisle. Service trips often provide opportunities to connect class work or class projects in new environments, with other cultures, and putting a face on statistics. Student reflections from 2008-2009 trips on how their goals beyond college or academic classes were impacted:

It has produced two things. 1. The realization that so many people and communities need some uplifting from their poor life conditions. 2. I can actually do something about it other than just saying the world is unfair and unjust. Opportunities to help are everywhere hence I have no excuse.

This trip has made me look at my life and my relationships in a different light, and made me realize what it truly important in life, as opposed to what is unnecessary. It has made me want to continue doing disaster relief for my whole life. In my sociology classes, it has put a face to the relevant social problems in America (i.e. lack of health care, how we treat the poor, etc.).

Because of the trip I have considered taking more teaching classes and am considering doing an Ameri-Corp teaching job in New Orleans when I graduate.

(I am ) inspired to seek out non-profit career opportunities.

At Dickinson a service trip is more than fun, it’s about making your education useful and encountering new experiences that help in your discernment process as a student and as a Dickinsonian for life.

Forming a Serving Community

Roles of those on Service Trips…

A successful service trip is only possible with many people working together: student team leaders planning and leadership, team participant’s work and collaboration to complete the projects, and administrative support. A service trip requires that everyone on the tripmust fully participate in all aspects of the trip, including cooking, service projects, reflection, and community building. As representatives of the Dickinson community through service,

theteam members and administrators are carefully selected with high expectations of each person.

Student Team Members

It is an honor to participate in Dickinson’s Service Trip Program. Due to host arrangements and program costs, a small number of students are accepted for each trip. While we wish we could provide an opportunity for every person who applies to participate in a service trip that is not financially or practically feasible. Student team members must be responsible ethically, morally, and physically when preparing for and participating in a service trip. These students must be willing to work with the student leaders and administrators of each trip.

The greatest strength was how the group was filled with people who were on it are very different,

but we ended up like a family by the end.

Student Leaders

The service trips are made possible only by student leadership that is organized, strong, and willing to commit a large amount of time to plan, prepare, and participate in the service trips. Student leaders serve as program facilitators and provide on-site leadership for participants during the course of the service trip experience. Student leaders meet with the Director to prepare a budget for the trip, make the trip itinerary, implement the team application and selection process, prepare team meetings, supply information to all team members, and lead on-site organization and reflection. After the trip, the student leaders will organize a reflection dinner and produce a team DVD and reflection journal.

Trip Administrators

Administrators assist students in drawing the connections between their service, classroom experiences, values, and potential vocations. While the trip administrators are there for support and informal mentoring will be their primary role. The trip administrators are the hands-on co-leaders with student leaders when difficult decisions have to be made especially regarding health and safety concerns. The trip administrator is also the primary contact with campus, and seeking additional support from campus as necessary. The trip administrators will not be leading the trip; however they should be treated with the same respect and values that any administrator on campus would be. Each trip will have a minimum of two administrators, and for larger trips a 1:10 ratio will be used. This ratio may change per the host community partner. The administrators will be selected and trained by the Office of Religious Life and Community Service prior to each trip.

Before this trip I really didn't see administrators as real people. I now realize how close you not only get to fellow students but to administrators. It was a great experience and made me realize how much every person at Dickinson cares.

Expectations of Students on Service Trips

Living and working closely together for 24 hours can be stressfulfor any extended time if expectations are not established and agreed upon by the team. While some expectations are obvious for safety and well-being of the team, other expectations such as quiet hours are dependent on the service site and housing arrangements. Attached to each application is a list of team expectations. Each team member must agree to abide by these expectations in order to participate in the trip. These have been established by the student leaders and are the foundation necessary for living and serving together during the service trip experience. Enforcement of these expectations will occur by student leaders holding their peers accountable, with trip administrators stepping in extreme cases.

My expectations did not match up to me experience. I didn't know too many on the team, but I became best friends with everyone there! I also didn't think we would be doing as much manual labor, but I loved it!

Team Expectations

-This trip is not a vacation. The primary purpose of this trip is to provide service to the community, to be a supportive citizen, and to build reciprocal relationships. My main priority is to engage the community that hosts our group and to serve them to the best of my ability.
-I will work to build and maintain a cohesive community, among the trip participants and among those with which we work. My work will also go beyond “normal expectations” and I realize that I may be asked to push beyond self-recognized boundaries and work in ways that I have not yet experienced.
-I will respect my fellow trip participants in all regards, as well as their ideas, property, and space. I will also maintain a clean and safe living space for all.
-I will respect our hosts, their culture, beliefs, and property, and I will behave responsibly and appropriately in their community.
-I will put forth my fair contribution to the trip's work and projects, and I will maintain a consistent positive effort in everything we do, from construction to group reflections and beyond.
-I will be safe – traveling in buddy teams, using common sense, and following direction provided by Student Leaders, Administrators and on-site supervisors, as well as by complying with all laws that exist where I am serving.
-I will respect and abide by the curfews set by the trip Administrators.
-I will not leave our assigned areas without the express permission of trip Administrators.
-I will not use illegal drugs of any kind or prescription medication not prescribed to me by a doctor.
-I will obey local alcohol use and consumption laws. If I am legally permitted to consume alcohol and choose to do so, I will do so responsibly and moderately.
-I will not participate in sexual relationships during the trip.

-I understand that this is a trip is sponsored by Dickinson College and I will therefore adhere to the Dickinson College Student Code of Conduct.
-I understand that if I violate this agreement, trip administrators will reserve the right to terminate my participation on this trip and send me home at my own expense.

Prior to the Trip- Team Meetings and Fundraising

Once the team is assembled, a schedule of team meetings is established. These meetings provide opportunities for team members to meet each other, learn about the project, discuss logistics, and to obtain more information about working with the community partner. During these meetings, the team will become familiar with the area of service and discuss relevant topics related to this community, such as cultural differences and safety concerns. It is very important that everyone be present at the team meetings, as they are the point of contact for dissemination of all trip information. Failure to attend pre-trip meetings can result in ANY student not being permitted to participate in the service trip.

Every team member must contribute to the fundraising efforts or pay independently an additional fee if unable or unwilling to participate in fundraising. Please see below for more information on fundraising below.

During the Trip

Each person is expected to fully participate with the team in all aspects of the trip, including cooking, service projects, reflection, and community building. Team members must be willing, barring any health concerns, to help in every project as assigned. While some tasks may not be the most “joyful” (moving a truck load of cement blocks a block), each part of the project is necessary for the overall success of the project. It only takes one team member with a bad attitude to become infectious to the entire team. Therefore one’s attitude on and off the worksite is critical to the health and success of each trip. Participating in reflections each evening, or at the designated time, is mandatory and missing the meeting will not be tolerated.