Katelyn Edwards, senior and writing major was one out of a group of students selected to go on a P.E.A.C.E. alternative break trip to Alaska this past summer. “An alternative break is a service oriented trip that prepares participants with in-depth education, involves meaningful direct service (around at least 1 specific social issue), and includes daily reflection to help participants solidify the connection between the work and their own lives,” said Jasper Davis, sophomore and alternative breaks coordinator.
Edwards’ alternative break took her to Anchorage, Alaska where she focused on Native American and Alaskan Native rights.
“While in Alaska, we would volunteer from 9a.m. – 4p.m., and then from 4p.m. onwards, we would go on excursions across Anchorage. Our volunteer work was all designated to the preparation of the Village of Eklutna’s annual Powwow, a massive production of thousands of natives from across the US to celebrate native culture,” Edwards said. “We would move massive boulders to set up mesh fences, deconstruct old wooden structures for scrap wood, level out mounds of dirt and gravel for parking lots, paint plywood for tables; we would also do a lot of Alaskan housekeeping tasks, such as rolling silverware or cutting moose meat or making native necklaces,” said Katelyn Edwards
Edwards, along with three other members from the trip shared many moments which left them in awe.
“Only four of us made it to the top of the 3,000 ft Flat Top Mountain, and the views were spectacular. Standing at the bottom of the mountain makes you really appreciate the utter enormity of mother nature, especially when you are 5’3; conversely, standing at the top of the mountain makes you appreciate your own power and ability as an individual. It’s a moment of both perspective and empowerment,” Edwards said.
Sophomore and nursing major Holly Opitz spent her summer abroad in Tanzania, Africa where she learned about global healthcare with an organization called Gap Medics. Gap Medics is a specialist company dedicated to providing year-round hospital shadowing programs abroad to students aged 16+ with the purpose of helping them gain valuable experience before applying to medical school, according to the GapMedics website.
“I could write a book about everything that I’ve learned. Being only a freshman I hadn’t had experience in a hospital before. I learned so much about local diseases like HIV, meningitis, TB, and dengue fever,” Opitz said. “I learned about what resources they had, and which they didn’t. I did a week in pediatrics and a week in surgery.”
While Opitz was in Tanzania, she was challenged in certain areas. However, she was still able to comfort the children at the hospital despite the language barrier.
“The language barrier in the hospital was a little challenging because when trying to comfort a child it was often hard to communicate,” Opitz said.
“Patients had to bring their own blankets, medications, gause, saline,and iodine for their wounds in the surgery ward,” Opitz said.
Opitz learned how to take blood pressure, draw blood, examine patients and help administer medications and she saw how different hospitals in Tanzania are compared to the US.
“For me, It wasn’t just one moment that made me realize like, this is real. It was working in the different wards and seeing heartbreaking moments. A man came into the surgery ward beaten up. He was caught stealing and was beaten really bad. There were no beds left and two fully grown men were already sharing a bed so they had to put him on a mat on the ground. They tried to put an IV in but his veins were weak. He was very very thin. He had a head wound, and a huge open wound on back of his ankle,” Opitz said. “They brought one of the oxygen machine over to him but the cord wasn’t long enough to reach him so they had to drag him on the floor so that the machine could reach the outlet and him. The man ended up dying. It was really hard to see it happen. The fact that he had to die on the floor in the aisle with no privacy or family was just really hard. But that’s how it is there especially when its an emergency. In the ward there was no family allowed in unless it was a child or the person was in really bad condition then one persons was [allowed to vist].”
Opitz also worked in the OB/GYN ward in Tanzania, and faced many challenges. Opitz saw how rampant malnutrition was in the pediatric ward.
“In OB/GYN there was a shelf and on the top shelf the alive babies were kept and the babies that had died were kept on a bottom shelf. It all just added to the experience, and reminded me of just how lucky we are,” Opitz said. “People complain of getting a bruise after they get their blood taken, or that their babies aren’t perfect. We have so many resources and are so accustomed to our ways that it’s hard to see how lucky we are. All these events really helped remind me to be grateful for what I have.”
Sal DeGaetano, senior and criminology major, spent his summer finishing up a six-week program studying in Florence, Italy, as well as working on a non-profit organization he started back in February of 2014.
“I mainly traveled to Florence to get a better feel of [my] family’s culture and get in touch with some family over there. I really wanted to improve my italian language skills as well since I am one of the only people on my dad’s side of the family who isn’t fluent in Italian,” DeGaetano said.
Because of the program, Study Abroad in Italy (SAI), DeGaetano has improved his ability to speak Italian, and he is now able to keep in touch with his family in Italy almost every day. Now that this program is finished, DeGaetano continues to work on his non-profit called Sal’s Soldiers. Sal’s Soldiers is an organization that DeGaetano utilizes to help raise awareness and funds for those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). DeGaetano created this organization in honor of his father and hopes to get a large amount of support on a collegiate level because he feels that they are more ambitious and more willing to be involved in extracurriculars and philanthropies.
“I was inspired to start Sal’s Soldiers in the name of my father who passed from MS in December of 2013. I had always participated in events like the MS Walk, but I never felt like I did enough,” DeGaetano said. “This is my way of trying to give back and feel like I made a difference, and hopefully I can for those who were in the same situation as my dad. I know that it can be an emotional and financial strain, and hopefully I can have a positive impact on someone’s life to make their struggles a little bit easier.”