Weinberg sophomore Geok Hui Koh spent her Saturday morning mopping the floors of an Evangelical church in Chicago, but she never lost her smile.
“(By volunteering), I got to talk to people in the community and saw how they have endured their hardships,” Koh said. “It makes me happy for the things I have and gives me the courage the work harder in life.”
Koh and about 50 other students participated in the Alternative Student Breaks Campus Connection Day on Saturday. The event allowed students to apply knowledge gained during their respective winter ASB trips by volunteering in select locations across Chicago.
“Students learn a lot from their experiences (in an ASB trip) and we wanted to make sure they gave back to the community that Northwestern is in,” said Weinberg senior Emily Flechtner, a former Daily staff member and ASB Education Outreach Coordinator. “The best way to do that is by applying those experiences by volunteering in the Chicago area.”
Splitting up into five groups, students volunteered at different Chicago organizations specializing in issues related to those covered during their winter ASB trips.
The group that volunteered at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York during the winter helped out at Vital Bridges, an agency that provides support for AIDS patients in Chicago.
Those who helped Sudanese refugees resettle in Omaha, Neb., during Winter Break, volunteered at the Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministry.
“We hear about the refugee situation in the news, but nothing about the hardships that these people encounter once they get into the United States,” said Weinberg senior Melorine Mokri, who volunteered with the group. “It was great to go out into the city and see that there are organizations helping out with things we hear about in the news … and to see how different states differ in helping these refugees.”
Other locations included the People Reaching Out shelter, Iglesia Evangelica Emmanuel and Equestrian Connection, an agency that offers physical therapy for horses. Students who provided hurricane relief in Florida this winter were unable to find a Chicago spot that was in need of their specialized services. Instead, they also volunteered at Vital Bridges.
“We wanted to do something that dealt with the tsunami, but we couldn’t find any volunteer work available other than providing monetary relief,” said Flechtner, who volunteered in Florida.
All members reunited in Kresge Hall at 5 p.m., where they shared stories and photos from their winter trips, filled out trip evaluations and feasted on pizza.
“ASB allows students to escape from the NU bubble and to open their eyes to the issues in America,” Flechtner said.
ASB will announce the locations for the spring trips at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Swift Hall, Room 107.
Reach Allan Madrid at [email protected].
