Professional News

UK Alternative Service Breaks Now Accepting Faculty and Staff Site Advisor Applications

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 17, 2015)  Faculty and staff are encouraged to serve as site advisors for the 2015-16 Alternative Service Breaks. Applications will be accepted through 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25.

The University of Kentucky Alternative Service Breaks (ASB) strives to provide quality and fulfilling alternative breaks that mutually benefit community partners and student participants through the education of a social issue, service work requested by the host site and student facilitated reflection.

UK faculty and staff members play a critical role in this program!  Faculty and staff contribute by supporting student leaders who plan and lead the 11 service immersions and four weekend service trips annually as well as by providing student volunteers with quality experiences.

As much as UK faculty and staff members give to UK ASB, they also benefit from serving in the role of site advisor.  Personal learning and growth can occur for site advisors in the same way it does for student participants and leaders as an outcome of their participation in UK ASB.  Service immersions also offer a unique context within which faculty and staff interact with students, providing new opportunities for site advisors to develop new or enhance existing professional competencies that are broadly transferrable. 

The following are testimonies from 2014-15 UK site advisors:

·       “You are in for an adventure! You get to watch students grow into the best person they can be.”

  

·       “You will have so much fun, make great connections with students, and make a difference in in the community you serve. You will also learn so much by being vulnerable and authentic, and in turn experience more growth than you expect.”

·       “If you approach this opportunity with an open heart, comfortable shoes, willing hands, and listening ears…it will be a life-changing experience.”

To submit an application online, please visit: http://www.jotformpro.com/ukasb/ukasbadvisor1516

Selections will be made based upon both applications and an interview process, and selected site advisors will be notified by Monday, Oct. 5.

 

This month, there will be an ASB Info Session geared toward prospective site advisors to learn more about the program and the site advisor role. Those new to the program are strongly encouraged to attend the session from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, in Room 101, Stuckert Career Center. To RSVP, Click Here.

Alternative Service Breaks are offering the following opportunities for UK students, faculty and staff to travel and volunteer during UK’s academic breaks:

Location:

Issue:

Dates:

Jinotega, Nicaragua

Global Youth Empowerment

January 2-9, 2016

Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Environmentalism

January 2-10, 2016

David, Kentucky

Rural Youth Outreach

March 12-19, 2016

Atlanta, Georgia

Refugee Resettlement

March 12-19, 2016

Washington, D.C.

Hunger and Homelessness

March 12-19, 2016

New Orleans, Louisiana

Disaster Relief

March 12-20, 2016

Silver Springs, Florida

Animal Conservation

March 12-20, 2016

Monterey Co., California

Immigration and New Americans

March 12-20, 2016

Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic

Global Youth Empowerment

March 12-19, 2016

Jinotega, Nicaragua

Global Youth Empowerment

March 12-19, 2016

Accra, Ghana

Global Youth Education

May 13-29, 2016

Scottsville, Kentucky

Center for Courageous Kids

Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2015 (Spring Date TBD)

Appalachian Region of Kentucky

Global Youth Education

(Fall and Spring Dates TBD)

For questions, contact UK ASB advisor Sarah Hermsmeier at shermsmeier@Uky.edu,  or UK ASB Student Director Cari Caudill at ukasb@ukcco.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Katy Bennett, (859) 257-1909; katy.bennett@uky.edu; Rebecca Stratton, (859) 323-2395; rebecca.stratton@uky.edu