MSU student groups such as Alternative Spartan Breaks and the MSU chapter of Students Today Leaders Forever journeyed throughout the nation to help rebuild communities.
Students Today Leaders Forever sent three buses packed with students for a nine-day service trip that made stops in various states that differed according to the bus.
Each bus, identified by the colors pink, green or blue, was sent to different locations before meeting together in Atlanta.
Marketing sophomore Laura Castle’s bus stopped in Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia.
Each stop involved various tasks such as helping out at homeless shelters, food banks, helping endangered species and planting trees.
“It was an amazing experience, I really enjoyed it,” Castle said. “It sort of changed my outlook on things, it was really cool.”
This was Castle’s first year participating, but for others like international relations senior Akhilesh Menawat, this is a yearly tradition
Menawat, a core member of the MSU chapter of Students Today Leaders Forever, has gone on seven trips.
“There’s something about being able to go to different places in the country and help others out and see the looks on their faces and see the appreciation they have,” he said. “It’s a feeling that’s way better than any party to me at least.”
Students involved in MSU’s Alternative Spartan Break were sent to one location where they spent the entire break helping others in that community.
Advertising and political science sophomore Liz Ferguson went to New Orleans to help out with rebuilding homes.
“You can read about it in the newspaper, but going there and seeing the destruction and hearing first hand experience from residents changed my perspectives and made it more real,” Ferguson said. “We were still in the same country and it was almost a completely different world.”
