Instead of vacationing during this year’s spring break, Student Involvement & Leadership and the Leadership Service Council gave UAB students an alternative: serve a community in need. Blazers on Break 2017 is a travel experience packed with cultural-enrichment, community service and educational opportunities. This year, students visited New Orleans.

“Touring the Lower 9th Ward Living Museum was definitely one of the many high points,” said David Dada, coordinator of leadership and service for the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership. “We learned a wealth of knowledge about New Orleans in general, namely about the unique culture and achievements of communities like the Lower 9th Ward and how to provide continued support post-Hurricane Katrina.”

Students participated in daily volunteer projects, including working with local children at the Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Louisiana and building homes for families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Additional service partners included the the Arc of Greater New Orleans, Sister Hearts Thrift Store, and Mardi Gras Bead Recycling Center.

In her second year attending, Alternative Spring Break Co-Coordinator Myah Morton says devoting her vacation to Blazer Break was not only productive, but gave her life-changing insight into the trials and triumphs of others. “We volunteered at so many locations, so each site had a profound impact on me. If I had to pick one, [the owner of Sister Heart Thrift Store] moved me the most. After years of incarceration, the owner was working to rebuild her life and started a community thrift store with only $40 to her name. Now she has expanded, and she’s using her resources to create programs that help other formerly-incarcerated women rebuild their lives and achieve their own dreams.”

Check out the gallery for additional photos from the 2017 Blazer Break experience.

For updates on Student Involvement & Leadership news, visit www.uab.edu/students/involvement.