The annual Alternate Winter Break, sponsored by Tigers in Service, a branch of the Center for Civic Leadership, will take place in Santa Fe, N.M., on Jan. 4 to 10. The deadline for applications is Wednesday.
Applications may be picked up in Custer 202 or online at www.tigersinservice.org. Interviews for the trip will be on Nov. 17.
Seventeen students will be chosen to go on the trip.
“We only have the resources and money to take so many students, so we have to be selective in who we choose, to ensure a successful and safe trip,” said Alexis Mesmer student coordinator.
Each interview will last approximately 10 minutes, and students are expected to dress professionally, Mesmer said. Two student coordinators and a faculty advisor will be going on the trip, along with the chosen students.
Mesmer said faculty who do not know the applicants will make the final selection.
“To keep it unbiased, we have two faculty members of the Center for Civic Leadership who are not going on the trip and who don’t know the applicants,” Mesmer said.
She added that Tigers in Service tries to go to a new state each year for the Alternate Winter Break with a new group of students.
“We want to impact the vast variety of students here at FHSU, not just one specific major,” Mesmer said. “Therefore, we choose various volunteer events and locations.”
While in Santa Fe, the group will be working with Habitat for Humanity.
It is a non-profit international Christian organization that partners with future and current homeowners to build simple, decent and affordable housing for low to very low-income families.
This year’s destination, like many of the others, was chosen to give students volunteer opportunities they might not get in a small town.
“The student volunteers would also gain experiences in new places to help make them more well rounded and world ready,” Mesmer said.
“Experiencing things outside what is normal to students will help them see what a huge world there is out there beyond what they grew up with.”