Alisha!

Hi! I'm Alisha Harris. I'm a super senior (5th year) at UMD. I am a dual degree student majoring in Theater (with a concentration in costume design) and Spanish with a TESOL minor. I grew up in a small town in Montgomery County, Maryland so I love nature and hiking and camping, but I also really love the city life. On campus, I'm a member of the The Love Movement, a group that aims to create a positive impact on the world through social actions and interactions, as well as the resident costume designer for The Weekday Players, a completely student produced theater group. Some of my favorite things to do in my spare time are cooking, baking, reading, and shopping. I've never participated in an Alternative Breaks Program, but I'm really excited about it. I agree that the issues our nation has with regards to hunger and homelessness need to be addressed and I am interested to see how they manifest themselves in a big city like Chicago. I view hunger and shelter as such basic simple needs that have the power to create such a significant impact on a person's life. I'm looking forward to learning more about these issues as well as ways in which I can help combat it because I'm always actively seeking ways to empower others and help change their lives for the better. I love meeting new people, so come talk to me and let's get to know each other!

Potluck Meeting Recap

On Oct. 25, we had a Potluck meeting in Nick's apartment to learn more about the Chicago area. It is incredibly important to know about the Chicago culture and poverty levels before we go there in March because we need to understand what we are jumping into. If someone traveled to College Park for a service trip, I think we would all agree we would want them to know the basics about the city before performing service. 

To do this, we watched Hardball and discussed how the characters' experiences are similar to what we will encounter in Chicago. Here is the movie's trailer:

Some similarities we found are:

• Food deserts 
• Defined: an area where there isn't grocery stores or farmer's markets to get fresh fruit and vegetables, instead there are corner stores with cheap junk food. 
• Alcohol 
• Keanu Reeves' character drinks a lot in the movie and is struggling with poverty. This is a main reason why there is a no alcohol/drug policy on our trip - it would not be good to go to service hungover when the people we are helping may be struggling with alcoholism. 
• The projects
• Defined: public housing owned by the government for low-income people to rent. 
• Cabrini Green, the project where the characters lived, was shut down in March 2011.

*We will explore public housing more in our "Poverty 101" meeting.

General facts about Chicago:

• The Chicago River, which runs through the city, flows backwards and is dyed green on St. Patrick's Day. 
• The Willis Tower (formally the Sears Tower) is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. 
• The city has a lot of neighborhoods with different cultures.

Famous Attractions:

• Millennium Park (where the Bean) is located
• Navy Pier
• Skydeck Chicago's The Ledge (at the Willis Tower)
• Chicago Cultural Center

Nicole Zelazny, Staff Advisor

Hi!  I’m Nicole Zelazny, and I’ll be serving as the staff advisor for this trip.  I grew up and attended college in Michigan (Central Michigan University), where I double majored in Business Administration and Commercial Recreation.  After graduation, I moved to Virginia and worked in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership at Old Dominion University – at ODU, I planned events and worked with student organizations.  In my “spare” time, I also completed my Master’s at ODU in Higher Education Administration.  I’m fairly new to the University of Maryland, as I just started as the Coordinator for Facility Scheduling in Campus Recreation Services in June.  I’m excited to dig in and get involved with an opportunity as amazing as alternative spring break.  

I’ve had many experiences volunteering with a variety of organizations and have gone on a few different service trips.  In high school, I spent a month in Poland volunteering at an English language summer camp; in college, I volunteered in Panama City Beach, FL during a spring break and spent a weekend focusing on poverty in South Bend, IN.  I’m very passionate about kindness and empathy, so I’m looking forward to learning more about the causes of 'hunger and homelessness' and working together with all of you to make a difference.  

On a more personal note, I really enjoy snowboarding, live music, coffee shops, the beach, reading, food, math, laughing, and anything outside especially when it’s sunny.  Feel free to stop by my office in the Rec Center any time to chat about the trip or anything else you might need!

Megan Galvin

I'm Megan Galvin, a co-trip leader on the trip. I am a senior communication and family science double major with a minor in philosophy. As you you could probably tell at the kick-off, I tell great stories and love Maryland athletics (shout out to Jesse for going to the volleyball game on Friday). I was born in California, so my heart belongs to the west coast. You'll see me sporting Oregon gear year round (it's okay, they're not in the ACC) and probably never see me on campus (I only have class twice a week).

Last winter I went to New Orleans for disaster relief. While there, I redeveloped marshes and rebuilt houses with Common Ground Relief. It was a great experience that helped prepare me to lead you on this trip to Chicago for hunger and homelessness. As a family science major, I have learned how poverty affects the family and have seen first hand how homelessness can rip it apart. I hope we grow together, learn about the issue, and serve our community.

Go AB Chi-town!

Nicholas Munson

Hi everyone! My name is Nicholas Munson, and I’m the co-trip leader for Chicago: Hunger and Homelessness. I’m a junior, and am a Journalism and Government & Politics double-major hailing from Hagerstown, Md. My first experience with Alternative Breaks was last spring break, when I decided to go to Atlanta, Ga. and focus on hunger and homelessness. Luckily, I will be able to continue with this topic as a trip leader in an entirely new city I’ve always wanted to see. Outside of AB, I am a sports staff writer for the Diamondback (everyone – pick up the paper!), a member of the Appellate Board on the University of Student Judiciary, a member of Primannum Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and a student in the Federal Semester Program. I am obsessed with baseball (GO METS), love history, am into writing (except for academic papers), and a Titanic and Star Wars nerd. I’m most excited about coming together as a group and setting out to a completely different region and city of the U.S. and striving to tackle a social issue.

Participant Bios

Hi all! To make our blog more interactive and to make it easier to learn about each other, we’ll have everybody on the trip post a little biography of themselves. You can include as much information as you would like, although we’d love to see you post a picture, include your extracurricular activities at Maryland, and what you want to get out of the trip!

Participant Kick-off!

Welcome to the Alternative Breaks Chicago: Hunger and Homelessness trip blog! We hope you're as excited to meet everyone and start planning as we are! We will both be at the Participant Kick-off Event in Stamp Student Union this Friday in the Stamp Colony Ballroom.

At this event, you'll get a chance to see what Alternative Breaks is all about, meet your trip leaders and get to know each other! You should make sure to be at the event by 4:30 p.m. It will go to about 6:30 p.m., and it will begin with all of the trip leaders and participants together. You'll be informed of important dates to remember, an introduction of AB staff and trip leaders, and of course, ICEBREAKERS! There will be plenty.

We'll then branch off into our individual trips, and meet each other and have a little icebreaker of our own. We'll also talk about our trip issue, community partners that we are looking to work with, our pre-trip schedule, and more. Can't wait to see all of you there!

Nick and Megan