Hundreds of Students Spending Spring Break Doing Service Projects

Instead of catching some waves and sun in Cancun, Mexico, scores of students are taking an “alternative” spring break by spending their vacations doing service work and gaining a better understanding of themselves and others. Still others are staying on campus, learning how to start a business and discovering the varied career options available in public interest work. Here are three programs taking place over the first week of March.

Spring Break Immersion For the third consecutive year, a record number of students are spending their break doing community service as part of the Spring Break Immersion Program.

The 276 students — or one in 10 students at the College — are working in 16 locations in Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, New Orleans, and Romero Center in Camden, N.J., a newly added site.

During the week of service, students assist communities with home repair, clean up, paint, visit schools, call on the elderly and people with disabilities, and learn about the various cultures of the regions. The program, now in its 35th year, is sponsored by the Chaplains’ Office.

Executive Leadership Workshop Thirty-eight students are participating in the sixth annual Holy Cross Executive Leadership Workshop, an intensive immersion in understanding what business is: how to start a business, take it to the next level, and sustain its momentum. Students get real-life business experience through business simulations, case studies, team projects and presentations. The rigorous program is conducted on campus in Smith Labs and run entirely by Holy Cross alumni executives from various fields.

Sponsored by the Ciocca Office of Entrepreneurial Studies, the Executive Leadership Workshop demystifies the business world and professions; improves business literacy and job search confidence; provides training in general business skills; and exposes students to the intellectual, emotional, and moral qualities of successful business leadership.

Community and Public Leadership Workshop Another 16 students seeking careers in nonprofit and community-based organizations, public affairs or government, activism, and social change are attending the Community and Public Leadership Workshop, which is also being conducted on campus in Smith Hall.

Now in its fourth year, the workshop has three purposes: to introduce participants to the range of viable and diverse career options in public interest work; to engage participants in discussions about ethical leadership and responsible citizenship in public service; and to prepare participants to enter public service by providing experiences and skills helpful to them and their future organizations.

Sponsored by the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, the program is conducted by Holy Cross alumni working in various areas of non-profit organizations across the world, along with faculty and staff at the College.

Pictured: Tom Patton ’86, president of QDx, Inc., interacts with students at last year’s Executive Leadership Workshop.

February 26, 2010|nm