This past weekend, I took a group of nine students to Holyoke, MA to work on the farm at Nuestras Raices. This was the first Alternative Break trip of any kind for Framingham State College, which is why we decided to stay pretty local and also why we chose to just do a weekend. Given the culture of Framingham State students, this was also the best fit. That culture being one of very hard working students, who often use their spring break as a means to work extra hours and earn a good chunk of money.
I was really excited about the trip because not only was it new to me and FSC, but the 9 students who came on the trip were all very new to volunteering in general. I would say about 2 or 3 of them had any experience volunteering, and it was amazing to see the transformation in them just over two days. On Saturday morning, when asked why they were there, their answers were all pretty identical to each other's, "I wanted to do something different for spring break" or, "I like helping people." Very generic, very basic...not very thoughtful. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed as we went around the circle and I heard one after another repeat the same answer. However, I was really proud and touched on Sunday afternoon during our final reflection when their answers were all very unique and thought out. Each one of them showed with their responses in our reflection activity a personal attachment to the work they did over the weekend and a better understanding of why it mattered. I'd say this was probably my first proud moment as an advisor to college students, and I really loved it. I even love thinking about it now two days later!
On our trip we did a lot of great work. Half our group plotted out land for the farmers, and half the group cleaned up and took an inventory of tools in the sheds. The second day we moved a whole bunch of frame pieces for a new greenhouse they're building. We got a lot of work done in a very short period of time, and the people at the farm were very grateful for it.
I have to admit that while this project has definitely not been my favorite part of my AmeriCorps*VISTA year so far, I am very pleased that I decided to take it on. Looking back, it caused me a lot of stress and I remember thinking repeatedly, "I can't wait until this is all over." Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that it's done with and have a huge feeling of relief because of that. However, even though it's not something I necessarily loved doing, it was a really great opportunity for me to gain a lot of skills that I didn't have before. Logistical thinking and being very detail oriented are not necessarily two of my stronger points. In planning any kind of trip, those two skills are very important and so I definitely appreciate the opportunity to fine tune those areas of my skill set.
I'll close with some photos of our trip - Enjoy!!
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