For most students, spring break means rest, beach time or spending time with family. For third-year public health student Karlye Stackhouse and many other students, spring break means giving.
Through the university’s alternative spring break program, students can choose among a selection of locations for service opportunities. Stackhouse and her team will be spending their spring break in Nashville, Tennessee, volunteering at the Martha O’Bryan Center.
The O’Bryan Center is a non-profit organization that aims to “empower children, youth and adults in poverty to transform their lives through work, education, employment and fellowship,” according to the organization’s mission statement.
Students will be at the center Monday through Thursday helping out with various projects including beautification, painting, gardening and many other tasks. With 588 families that graduated from the center’s program, Stackhouse said that she is most excited about meeting and getting to know the families of the Martha O'Bryan Center.
Stackhouse first became involved with the Alternative Break program when she went to Kissimmee, Florida, to volunteer with the program Give Kids the World. Stackhouse found the trip to be a rewarding experience and has loved volunteering ever since.