By John Roach Students can spend their spring break planting trees as an alternative to soaking up the sun on a beach. While hordes of college students flock to sun-drenched beaches on spring break, a growing number of them will use the time away from academic rigors to further an environmental cause, help a needy community or learn how to fight the ills of a corporate, global economy.
Opportunities abound for college students eager to stray from the spring-break party scenario.
From organized trips and events to self-planned adventures, all it takes is a little creativity and a desire to grow. More than 80 schools of higher education are affiliated with Break Away , a program founded in 1991 by two students from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, to raise awareness of social issues by involving students in social projects for one of their week-long vacations. The program sends some 7,000 students on more than 500 trips a year throughout the United States and around the world. Some undergrads, for example, will go to Tallahassee, Florida, to work with the Nature Conservancy on wetlands restoration. Others will teach math and science in Puerto Rico.