St. Norbert has long offered students alternative breaks, where they could perform service work linked with a particular social issue over a school break. Think projects linked with immigration or the environment. Today these alternative breaks are part of the more extensive TRIPS program, which engages students for much of the academic year.

TRIPS, or Turning Responsibility Into Powerful Service, combines service work at sites across the nation with hands-on education, leadership building, reflection and community work back home. Here’s how it works.

Every spring, students can sign up for an upcoming TRIPS program. There is typically one service trip over Long Weekend in October, and several during J-term and spring break. The projects tackle a variety of issues. Two examples: working on children’s healthcare in Memphis, Tenn., with SNC partner Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, and addressing immigration issues in Denver with partner Colorado Vincentian Volunteers.

When fall semester begins, students are assigned a destination and team of six to 10 people. The teams are led by students with past TRIPS experience and leadership training, with support from the Sturzl Center for Community and Service Learning. Once a week, the teams gather to prepare for their experience.

During the service trips, students mostly focus on their projects, although there is some time for relaxation. Every evening there is a reflection period, where students can think about what they’ve learned and discern their particular talents, says Andrew O’Connor, Sturzl Center director.

“We want them to connect with the needs of other people and communities, plus the larger narrative of justice, while figuring out where they fit into the big picture,” O’Connor says. “We want to combat the old practice where you just do your service and go home.”

Once the students are back on campus, they’re required to organize a service project benefitting the local community, based on what they learned.

“Those who volunteered at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital might decide to hold a blood drive on campus to benefit St. Vincent Children’s Hospital, for example, while those who worked on an environmental sustainability project might decide to organize a trash pick-up along the Fox River,” O’Connor says.

TRIPS alums say their experience made them more aware of the serious problems faced by others, O’Connor says. Many are also struck by how much joy they can bring people through very simple acts of service, such as playing with a child so the parents can complete a task. Some have even changed careers as a result.

“It requires some grit to give up your spring break to do service work,” O’Connor says. “But you end up growing as a person. And employers are often impressed with job applicants who chose to serve others during their break instead of relaxing at home.”

It’s not just St. Norbert staff that selects TRIPS service locales. Students also may suggest future sites or social justice issues, based on their interests.

After viewing the popular Tiger King show on Netflix several years ago, TRIPS students wanted to work with a tiger rescue group. So in 2022, SNC added Carolina Tiger Rescue in Durham, N.C., as a TRIPS partner.

During this trip, students have erected fences for new cat enclosures and cleared brush from enclosure walls, among many other general tasks.