Spreak Break Tri-S Opportunity

The Tri-S program at AU offers two types of trips abroad: cultural and service. Cultural trips emphasize opportunities to learn about different cultures through first-hand experience, while service trips focus on meeting the needs of others, wherever they may be. During Spring Break 2007, the cultural trip to London and service trip to Mexico illustrated the dynamics of each type of trip and great potential for change within each student’s life.

Morrison Resident Director Erin Davis led an eight day cultural trip to London with six college women. The terrain was somewhat familiar to her because she had lived in England as an exchange student for a year when she was 19. However, she had traditionally led service trips, and this was one of the few cultural trips she had made. The experience was just as rewarding as she helped the girls “broaden their horizons” to experience the unique culture of London. The group toured many museums and historical sites, such as the Tower of London, West Minster Abbey, Piccadilly Circus, and Trafalgar Square. “They loved to see how rich the history was,” Davis remarked. The most striking aspect for most of the girls was not the history of England but the present-day state of its capitol. They took note of the many nationalities represented in London and the distinct features that marked the Americans from the rest of the crowd, such as their loud and open demeanors as compared to the more reserved British. “The crush of people is very different,” Davis said. Many of the girls were amazed at the public transportation system and vastness of the metropolitan scene. Davis took time to educate the girls about the Underground subway system and how to easily get around London. Sometimes she even quizzed the girls on what trains they would use to get from one place to another. The group also visited some of the markets, where they encountered the discouraging 2 to 1 exchange rate from dollars to pounds. However, in an uncharacteristic turn of events, they did enjoy a sunny week in March, which is traditionally cold and rainy in England. The whole experience certainly helped “broaden their horizons,” but in general “helped them to be world citizens.”

The service project was led by SIFE student leaders Katherine Hinkley and Andrea Handstra. SIFE stands for Students in Free Enterprise and is a global organization with an enthusiastic and active chapter at AU. In this second visit to Mexico (the first was Spring Break 2006), the group organized two main programs for economic development in San Luis de la Paz, Mexico. By branching out into the international sector, AU SIFE hoped to encourage other businesses to think globally. Their first project consisted of teaching entrepreneurial women how to effectively manage their costs and sales. The AU group worked with a micro-lending company which helps women start their own small businesses by letting them take out small loans to pay back and establish good sense of financial responsibility and credit. The SIFE group taught a number of credit officials from the company how to use a cost worksheet, which they in turn would teach to the other women starting their businesses. “The women were very prepared and asked a lot of questions,” Handstra said. The second project sent SIFE students back to school—but in this case, they were the teachers. Through a bartering game and lesson on the effects of stealing, AU students helped teach some basic economic principles to the children. Many of the young students remembered the lesson from last year. “They responded really well. They wanted our autographs afterwards. They thought we were famous,” Handstra said. The SIFE group did schedule some recreational time--they toured the ruins of Tajin and relaxed on Veracruz beach one night. All in all, the trip was quite successful in opening students to other cultures and helping others develop a better sense of finances. “The team worked really well, Handstra said of the SIFE group, “People are just excited to learn as much as they can.”

The desire to explore and serve is at the heart of the Tri-S program, and both of these trips were examples of “the wonderful opportunity to be exposed to other cultures in a safe environment,” as Davis put it. Tri-S will continue to seek to fulfill its mission to students and the world to provide many unique opportunities to study, serve, and share.