Students going to Alaska, Gulf Coast
When college students make their plans for Spring Break, fun in the sun at a far away place is often on the agenda. Two groups from Chadron State College will travel to opposite ends of North America during Spring Break, but lounging on a sandy beach isn’t on the agenda. One group will be providing relief for Hurricane Katrina while another will be traveling to Alaska to study the regional culture, history and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
The latter group, which calls itself “Study Away Alaska,” will leave for Anchorage on Tuesday, Feb. 26, and return Thursday, March 6. The 10 students will be led by three CSC faculty members, Dr. Charles Snare, Dr. Chuck Butterfield and Dr. Luke Perry.
Butterfield said the students involved in the Alaska trip will receive training for dog handling upon their arrival, and will assist the 111 mushers at the beginning of the 1,100-mile race. Organizers expect more than 30,000 spectators at the event’s ceremonial start.
“We wanted to give the students a unique experience,” Butterfield said. “This is also a way for the college to give back to the people of Alaska, who sent a high school football team here for camp last summer. We thought it would be nice to send a group of students up there to help with one of their centerpiece events.
“We want them to learn what it means to be part of Alaska,” he said. “We’re going to look at the history of Alaska and the history of the Iditarod.”
In addition, the students will tour educational sites in the region and meet some of the state’s experts of agriculture, including the head of the Alaska Department of Agriculture.
Deena Kennell, CSC director of internships and career services, will lead the group of 11 students on a service learning mission at Biloxi, Miss., from Saturday, March 1, to Saturday, March 8. While there, they will join students from about 10 other colleges and universities in clean-up and rebuilding efforts administered by Hands On Gulf Coast, a disaster response project that was organized after the devastating storm of 2005.
“In service learning, the goal is for students to recognize their ability to be engaged civically and to contribute to a community, hopefully theirs in the long run,” Kennell said. “I am excited about this group of students. All but two them applied for this trip independently because they wanted to make a difference.”
CSC’s trip to the Gulf Coast is being largely funded by a grant from the Midwest Consortium for Service Learning in Higher Education. Local businesses have provided a number of items, such as gloves and goggles, for the students and other campus departments have pledged monetary support.
Students who are participating in the Alaska trip are paying for their expenses and earning college credit for their experience.
Students enrolled for the Alaska trip are Jennifer Cleveland, Gering; James Girard, Alliance; Austin Horn, Sidney; Brooke Stewart, Waterbury; Sarlyn Morse, Imperial; Dan Vest, Pleasanton; Shane Max, Gothenburg; Jacob Frost, Overton; and Karen Snare, Chadron.
The students traveling to the Gulf Coast are Sarah Andreason, Nelson; Travis Connot, Sidney; Dave Covington, Cheyenne, Wyo.; Stephanie Frey, Lincoln; Victoria Frey, Lincoln; Crystal Haslett, Chadron; Ann Holland, Benkelman; Liz Licking, Tryon; Ashley Maxon, Laurel; Matt Nielsen, Brunswick; and Desiree Young, Greybull, Wyo.
Category: Campus News