With the results of one of the most competitive college admissions selection processes sent out, students are feeling more and more pressure to boost their resumes for both graduate and undergraduate applications with unique community service experiences.
Soon-to-be college graduates are starting to feel the travel bug creep in but also have a passion for social service.
Ecotourism stands shining as an answer to our desires to see the world while saving one village at a time.
Though this beacon of light sounds like the perfect solution to our budding desires to make an impact on our planet, most of these trips cost upward of $6,000 covering a three-week excursion. Adventure Cross-Country offers a trip to the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador in July that includes rain forest exploration and the opportunity to teach English to children in a local village. The 24-day trip costs $5,995, a price some are willing to pay.
While building wells in Costa Rican villages in combination with rain forest exploration appeals to my inner traveler, I cannot seem to justify, even as an international development studies student, the amount of money that is poured into these trendy trips.
The desire behind those who participate in these trips is genuine, but are there other ways the average American can provide relief service while seeing something new?
Instead of going abroad we can look at the plentiful community service opportunities available to us in the U.S., or even still in the smaller scale of our community in Los Angeles. Many students at UCLA participated in relief efforts in their own backyard by partaking in alternative spring break trips.
Students from the on-campus group Hillel at UCLA traveled to New Orleans to continue the cleanup from Hurricane Katrina.
“I don’t think people realize that, although there is poverty and destruction abroad, these same conditions also exist within our own country,” said Allyse Engelder, a second-year communications student.
Prompted by her recent experience in New Orleans, second-year psychology student Nathalie Arbel is planning “Big Sunday,” a green community service day happening May 4.
“Volunteering is expensive, and staying close to home minimizes transportation costs to sites that need help. This facet of the New Orleans trip motivated me to launch community service initiatives right here in Los Angeles,” Arbel said.
This kind of initiative within our own community is a more cost-friendly way to promote community service.
Some on-campus groups take a more long-term approach to their international relief goals. Global Business Brigades at UCLA is currently working with coffee growers in Honduras to create a cooperative that would increase profits and bring economic prosperity to the region. They communicate with a representative who lives in Honduras and continue to work toward their goal while residing in Los Angeles.
Global Business Brigades traveled to Honduras this past winter break and is planning another trip for this summer. Planning at home and then implementing plans abroad is a financially responsible approach to international aid.
“Global Business Brigades has had the ability to make a positive difference by providing regions of Honduras with the resources already available to them in their own country,” secretary of Global Business Brigades Mariel Caille said. Caille recognizes the importance of aid at home and abroad.
“Local community service is just as important as providing relief to the world. As human beings, we all live together in the same world,” she said.
The thrill of traveling abroad to engage in relief work can be transplanted home to areas of the U.S. many Bruins have never been. Many Bruins can become trapped in the UCLA microcosm and should venture outside Westwood to participate in community services that are just as eye-opening as planning a trip abroad.
“Community service by UCLA students in the greater Los Angeles area shows that UCLA students are more than just about what is going on in the UCLA bubble,” said Ashley Thompson, a member of Bruin Belles Service Association.
Even though traveling abroad to participate in relief efforts that provide economic assistance to a community in need is a socially responsible and commendable way to spend your vacation, the community service we could be providing at home and the tactics we can implement to create long-term change can be more economically responsible.
Feeling guilty for having an international service travel bug? Commiserate with Mier by e-mailing her at smier@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.