UC Students Join Hurricane Cleanup Over Spring Break

University of Cincinnati students are switching from swimsuits to service over spring break, and three separate UC trips to the hurricane-ravaged gulf coast will give dozens of students an eyewitness account of the devastation as well as the hope that is rising with the rebuilding efforts. They’re just a few of the service-related trips planned for Alternative Spring Break March 20-24.

“After the hurricane hit, I had wanted to help out with the hurricane relief beyond donating money or supplies, so this trip seems like the perfect opportunity,” says 20-year-old Honors Scholar Melissa Ozarzak, a biology major from Toledo, Ohio. “The only thing I really want to get out of this trip is the knowledge that I helped out.”

“This being my senior year, people think I’m a little nuts to give up my last spring break, but I just love it so much. This trip is addicting,” says Kelli Highnam, a 22-year-old psychology major from Mt. Vernon, Ohio. She’s looking forward to a service-learning trip to Mexico, building homes for disadvantaged families in Saltillo. Highnam is raising $500 to take part in the hard-labor experience. It’s her third spring break trip to Mexico with students representing the UC Center for Community Engagement.

Here’s the full roundup of UC’s service and academic-related trips:

Alternative Spring Break

Hurricane Katrina and Rita -related Trips

Chalmette, La. – A busload of 40 of UC’s Honors Scholars will head to the Gulf Coast region as part of an alternative spring break trip organized with the National Relief Network. They’re among a total of 1,700 students nationwide who are assisting the National Relief Network over the next 10 weeks, according to Executive Director Scott Harding. The organization works to bring large numbers of volunteers into state-and federally-declared disaster areas to help residents rebuild. The academically talented UC students will spend spring break gutting hurricane-ravaged homes in Chalmette, La., just outside of New Orleans. About half of the students will earn three hours of academic credit as they complete Honors-related online course requirements. Debbie Brawn, academic director for UC Honors Scholars, is also taking the trip to the Katrina-devastated region. Brawn says each of the students is raising $399 for the trip. They leave campus Sunday, March 19 and return Friday, March 24.

New Orleans, La. – A group of 25 students representing UC Collegiate Ministry will clean up damage and rehab homes in the neighborhoods surrounding a community ministry. Each student is raising $150 for the trip. The group will also assist the ministry in providing food and clothing for area residents as well as minister to the neighborhood children in after-school tutoring. Pastor Ken Dillard says UC’s Collegiate Ministry pays a visit to the Rachel Sims Baptist Center every three years, so the trip was scheduled before Hurricane Katrina ever hit. This is the group’s fourth visit to the community. They’ll be departing Cincinnati on March 17 and returning on March 25.

Metairie, La. – Ten students with the UC Center for Community Engagement (CCE) will assist Rebuilding Together, a volunteer association that plans to rebuild 1,000 homes along the Gulf Coast affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. UC’s Center for Community Engagement provides volunteer opportunities and builds leadership in civic responsibility. Program Coordinator Steve Trepkowski is traveling with the volunteers and says each student was required to raise $350 for the eight-day trip. The group will be staying at the St. Matthews Methodist Church. They’re scheduled to leave Cincinnati on March 17 for the 12-hour trip to Metairie (a suburb of New Orleans), and return on March 25.

Other ASB Trips

Saltillo, Mexico – Fourteen UC students with the UC Center for Community Engagement (CCE) will travel to Saltillo, Mexico, along with trip coordinator Andrew Phillips, a graduate assistant for CCE. Phillips says the students will build housing for disadvantaged families and will be painting a church building that is used as a community center. Each of the students is raising $500 for the trip. The group will depart Cincinnati on March 17 and return on March 25.

Savannah la mar, Jamaica – A group of six students representing the St. Monica-St. George Parish Newman Center will travel to St. Joseph Church in the Westmoreland Parish of Jamaica. They’ll work on the rehabilitation of a retreat house, assist in building a mission church, and learn about the people and culture of Jamaica. The group departs Cincinnati on March 18 and returns on March 25.

St. Louis, Mo.  – Michael Schreiner, campus minister for the St. Monica-St. George Parish Newman Center, says six students will travel to St. Matthew the Apostle parish, work in a community garden and school, and explore how racism creates and sustains impoverished conditions. The group departs Cincinnati on March 18 and returns on March 25.

Spencer, W. Va. – Six other students with the St. Monica-St. George Parish Newman Center will join the Gift of Tears Catholic Worker Farm to assist families in Appalachian mountain regions.  Students will participate in projects that include chopping wood, fixing farm fences and repairing buildings, as well as visiting with elderly and youth populations. Michael Schreiner, campus minister, says students will examine issues of poverty and social injustice affecting the region. The group departs Cincinnati on March 18 and returns on March 25.

Beverly. Ky. –   Twenty-six students with the St. Monica-St. George Parish Newman Center will join the Red Bird Mission in assisting low-income families in the Appalachian region of Bell County. The group pulls out of Cincinnati on March 19 and returns on March 25. “All of our trips involve more than just work,” concludes Michael Schreiner, campus minister. “As students leave their own comfort zone, we hope that by being in solidarity with the poor, this experience opens students’ hearts to work against oppression, wherever it is found. Our goal is to have our students return home more compassionate and energized to work for justice in their communities.” 

Jackson County, Ky. – A group of five students will join M.J. Woeste, a field service assistant professor of communication and Maribeth Metzler, associate field service professor in communication, on a trip to repair and rebuild homes in south-central Kentucky. This is a regular ASB trip involving UC volunteers and the Christian Appalachian Project, a non-profit organization that serves impoverished families in the Appalachian regions of the bluegrass state. The group will depart Cincinnati on March 19 and return on March 24. Each student is raising $210 for the trip.

UC Service-Learning Trips

UC defines service-learning as “a reflective educational experience in which students earn academic credit by participating in meaningful service activities. Service-learning experiences are designed to foster deeper understanding of course content and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility.”

Study Abroad With Habitat for Humanity
The College of Business (CoB), in partnership with the UC Romance Languages Department in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, will travel to Guatemala for the first time to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity from March 17-26, 2006. The group of four Spanish majors and ten undergraduate CoB students will build a home with Habitat for Humanity in San Marcos for five days and spend the remainder of the trip soaking up the local culture around the colonial town of Antigua. Students will develop cross-cultural understanding while volunteering alongside the Guatemalan partner family.  The students will be accompanied by Lee Armstrong, assistant director for international programs, CoB, and Siusan Durst, field service associate professor, Romance Languages and Literatures. Previous service-learning trips have involved partnerships with Habitat for Humanity in Costa Rica. Students earn three academic credit hours from the service-learning course.

Assistance for Expectant Mothers
Four students and Maureen Sackenheim, a sonography instructor in UC’s College of Allied Health Sciences, will be visiting Guatemala from March 17-23 to perform ultrasound exams for pregnant women who have little or no access to health care. The ultrasound machine manufacture SonaSite is supporting the trip by loaning the group a portable ultrasound machine to take with them. Students can count the trip toward a two-credit-hour practical experience.

Academic Trips

College of Business

Aachen, Germany – From March 19-25, 14 MBA students will join German peers at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technishe Hochschule (RWTH) in Aachen during a six-day program focusing on German, European Union and American trade issues, EU financial integration and the impact of German unification on the economy. Students will also visit progressive companies in the area. The program is led by Tim Sale, professor of accounting, and P.K. Sen, professor of accounting.

Brussels, Belgium  –  Eight business honors scholars will travel to Brussels from March 18-26 to immerse themselves in international business. Students will spend a half day in class at the Université Catholique de Louvain,  will attend presentations by Cincinnati businesses with operations in Belgium, will visit various EU institutions, and will explore the history of Belgium by visiting Bruges and Bastogne (WWII site). The program ends in Paris where students will have two days to soak up the culture. Sharon McFarland, field service assistant professor of marketing, will lead this pilot program.

Querétaro, Mexico – The College of Business (COB) joins the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Querétaro, Mexico to offer this intensive 3 credit hour international business elective from March 19-26.  Twelve undergraduate students will spend six days learning about doing business across NAFTA through company visits, classes, and meetings with managers. Additionally, students stay with host families to gain more familiarity with Mexican culture. Ana Leonard, field service assistant professor, and Kim McGinnis-Hemphill, Senior Academic Advisor-Transfer & Transition Students, will accompany students in Mexico. 

Santiago, Chile – From March 19-25, 24 graduate students representing UC’s MBA and master’s of arts administration programs will spend six days at the Universidad de Desarrollo in Santiago learning about Chile’s economic miracle, trade relations, cross-cultural management, and the nuances of doing business with Chileans. Larry Gales, academic director of International Programs and associate professor of management, and Michael Walker, professor of finance, will accompany the students as they also visit companies in export striving to maintain a global competitive edge.  

College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning

Curitiba, Brazil – Carla Chifos, assistant professor of planning, and Michael Romanos, professor of planning in UC’s top-ranked College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, will lead 11 students to Curitiba, Brazil, during spring break. The visit is part of a course on metropolitan sustainable development and planning and is organized in conjunction with the UC partner institution, Getulio Vargas Foundation, Brazil’s leading private academic institution. The UC group – comprised of undergraduate and graduate planning and industrial design students – will attend lectures, meet with government and planning officials and visit a number of low-income housing projects. They’ll also visit economic development and environmental conservation projects throughout the Brazilian state of Parana. The group departs Cincinnati on March 13 and returns on March 25.

McMicken College of Arts & Sciences

Galapagos Islands — In conjunction with Assistant Professor Ken Petren’s NSF-funded project on genetic differentiation and evolution of Darwin’s finches, the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts & Sciences will be in Galapagos 2–3 weeks, focusing mostly on the largest volcano, which is still active, on the largest island (Isabela). They will be capturing birds mostly in the uplands and sampling a bit of blood from each bird for genetic analysis. The team of one professor, one undergraduate student, two master’s students and one post-doc also hope to look for evidence of breeding in the critically endangered mangrove finch. They will be hiking and camping in very rugged conditions. The group leaves Cincinnati March 10 and will return by the end of March.

Albania – A group of eight students from UC’s anthropology program will join with Professor Lynne Schepartz on a trip to study skeletal biology and archeology in Albania. The trip runs from March 16-April 7.

Bombay, India — Howard Tolley, professor of political science will conduct a development workshop for faculty at the University of Mumbai (Bombay) India. The workshop is being held in preparation for delivery of a fall human rights distance-learning course to police, lawyers and civil servants. The workshop takes place March 24–25.

North Slope of Alaska (by way of Chicago) — In March, UC geography/women’s studies faculty member Wendy Eisner is attending the American Association of Geographers Conference in Chicago to present findings in a paper entitled “Past, Present, and Future Climate Change in Arctic Alaska: Combining Western Science and Iñupiat Elders' Knowledge.” Eisner is an author along with Dr. Ken Hinkel of Geography, Dr. Chris Cuomo of Philosophy and Women's Studies, and Geography grad students John Hurd and Jenifer Barnett. Jen will be attending the conference as well. In April, this same group will be travelling to Arctic Alaska to continue field work, which includes interviewing the Alaskan native people about global warming and environmental change. Grad student Jen Barnett will be making her first trip to Alaska and grad student Ben Jones will also be joining the team there.

Honors Scholars

Charleston and Beaufort, S.C. – A group of eight students will tour the ecology and landscape of coastal South Carolina as they delve deeper into the writings of contemporary writer Pat Conroy. Through winter quarter, the Honors Scholars English course has explored Conroy’s writings and his themes of regionalism, rites of passage, family dynamics, education and racism. English Professor Billie Dziech and Biology Professor Mary Fox will guide the class during their stay on Kiawah Island just outside Charleston. The group will take boat and bicycle tours of the ecology and wildlife, plus tour the references in Conroy’s books including the Middleton Plantation, the Citadel, the Old City Jail, the Market and the Palmer House. They will also study Gullah culture at the Avery Institute and tour Beaufort, the setting for much of Conroy’s work. Assigned readings for the course have included The Water is Wide, The Lords of Discipline and The Prince of Tides. “One of the most fascinating topics we discuss is the transition in the writer/man that occurs in the years between his attack on the Citadel and the reconciliation,” Dziech says. “Students explore what happens in the lives of individuals over time as they grapple with experiences in their lives – why some of those experiences change their perceptions and others remain the same.” The group departs Cincinnati for the trip on March 18 and returns on March 22.