When you think of winter break, you probably don’t associate it with working on community development and service projects in Costa Rica. But for 14 Illinois State University students and one faculty advisor, this is exactly how they spent a portion of their time between semesters.
Dr. Michael Hendricks, an assistant professor in the Department of Politics and Government, senior Spanish major Kate Birlingmair, psychology doctoral student Kierra Peterson, and 12 other students flew to Costa Rica in early January 2023 for an alternative winter break (AWB), a program through the Center for Civic Engagement in which students and faculty travel and engage in community service.
AWBs occur annually, with one domestic and one international trip, and they include at least one faculty advisor and one student trip leader. For the Costa Rica AWB, Hendricks, an assistant professor in the Department of Politics and Government, served as the trip’s faculty advisor.
“For faculty, it’s a great way to do service projects which are required of us, but also, it’s a great way to do meaningful service,” said Hendricks. “It’s also a great way to mentor and get to know our ISU students at a different type of level.”
As a student trip leader, Birlingmair helped lead pre-trip meetings and, on the trip, nightly reflections. She said, “Our main service issue was focused on community development.”
In Costa Rica, the AWB group assembled kitchen stoves, dug holes for septic tanks, connected water lines to houses, built a private bathroom and shower area in a home, and helped their host family with various projects.
“One day, the host dad got a call that he needed us to go out in the fields and pick pineapple,” said Birlingmair. “That was one of my favorite days. We were harvesting pineapple as a group, and it was just amazing. The amount of teamwork and energy we had while doing that made it a fun experience, and we picked over 6,000 pounds of pineapple.”
In addition to the service projects, the group had two free days where they went horseback riding, ziplining, and they enjoyed local hot springs.
Peterson said she enjoyed playing soccer with children in the community and speaking Spanish with them. As a Spanish major, Birlingmair said, “I could use my major in a tangible way and communicate with the people in the community.”
After her AWB experience, Birlingmair said she hopes to return to Costa Rica to apply her Spanish major and psychology minor to help the community.
“It’s a really enriching experience,” said Birlingmair. “You learn a lot about yourself, about different cultures, about community, and about service.”
In agreement, Peterson said, “I feel like everybody should try an alternative break at least once. It’s a great way to give back to the community and meet friends simultaneously.”
