Berks students go to Puerto Rico for Alternative Spring Break experience

WYOMISSING, Pa. — While many students enjoy their spring breaks with their families and friends or travel to a beach, eight Penn State Berks students, joined by a few students from Penn State Abington, decided instead to travel to Puerto Rico to be of service to the local community. From Saturday, March 8, to Friday, March 14, the students had a chance to sow seeds at a Puerto Rican farm, work at an animal shelter and learn about Puerto Rico’s history.

Penn State Berks students included:

• Kaitelynn Beely (fourth-year, life science major)
• Alyssa Brown (first-year, accounting/finance major)
• Dany Dabboura (second-year, pharmacology major)
• Cristina Martinez (second-year, electro-mechanical engineering technology major)
• Brandon Nabar (fourth-year, criminal justice major)
• Mary Namy (second-year, biochemistry major)
• Emily Shugar (second-year, mechanical engineering major)
• Crystal Sterling (second-year biology major)

TaLisa Ramos, associate director of student affairs, and Lilibell Sanchez, assistant director of student leadership, partnered with Sofrito Tours and This Latina Travels to plan the entire experience for the students. Laura Kingston of LKDigital documented the trip.

The trip consisted of two parts: service and education. The first part, service, centered around giving back to the Puerto Rican community and the second part, education, focused on the history of the island, Puerto Rican culture and the effects of colonization.

"My favorite part of this trip was the community service, being that Puerto Rico is my home," Sterling said. "To be able to help those who built up the island community was such an honor it allowed me to see everything in a whole new light and become so much more grateful for my blessings. If you ever indeed decide to visit, coming from an islander, support those small businesses and hang with the locals to experience the island to the fullest."

The first stop on the students' trip was a nonprofit animal shelter, Santuario SASFAPR. Puerto Rico has a large overpopulation of dogs and therefore a lot of shelters are filled on the island. The students worked at SASFAPR, where they washed the dogs, cleaned their bedding and washed the floors. SASFAPR, along with Coffee and Paws Rescue, another rescue service where the students worked, send dogs from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States using volunteers called Flight Angels who will bring the dogs directly to their adopters. The shelters cover the cost of all the vet care and air fares, as long as the adopters pay $50 for the adoption. At the end of the trip, the students volunteered as Flight Angels and brought 10 adopted dogs back home with them.

This experience meant so much to students Alyssa Brown and Emily Shugar, and along with Ramos, each of them adopted a puppy who was flown in by Flight Angels this past month.

“To experience Puerto Rico through the intentionally chosen rhythms of local life was heart-awakening. Every moment — every meal, every smile, every act of care — felt purposeful. In the States, some days the only smile I see is the one I give myself in the mirror before leaving the house. But in Puerto Rico, I never once felt that loneliness. The culture breathes togetherness. Strangers greet you like family. Love is loud and ever-present,” Brown said.

The next stop on the trip was a Puerto Rican farm, Agricultora de Ciales, run by Stephanie Rodriguez Ocasio, who taught the students about the movement to bring agriculture back to Puerto Rico. The students planted frijoles, which will be harvested in about a year.

“Staying in Puerto Rico during the Spring Break is something I will never forget. It was the perfect way to learn more about the island’s culture, history and geography. My favorite part was the trip to the farm in Orocorvis where we tilled the soil and planted kidney beans. One cool thing I learned from there is that the world has 13 different types of soil, and Borikén alone has 12 of them. This makes the island one of the most biodiverse and easiest places to grow food in the world," stated Nabar.

He added, "Alternative Spring Break is a once in a lifetime experience: a perfect mix of social service, learning and relaxation.”

Agricultora was not the only farm that the students visited. Latitude 18, a coffee shop and farm, taught the students about sustainable farming techniques using water planting, or hydroponics.  

The students also learned about the culture of Puerto Rico, taking many tours hosted by Puerto Rican organizations. One of the tours, the Carolina Museum Tour, brought students to Puerto Rican museums where they learned about activists and the political history of the island. Another tour, the Ponce Tour, covered the history of the town square and the local community and the students had an opportunity to speak and dance with the local townspeople. On this tour the students also had a chance to try authentic, local coffee at Cafe Pangea PR and tour the coral reef on a catamaran with East Island Excursions.

Martinez, a student on the trip, said, "This trip helped me connect even more with my culture and people!"

Music plays a huge role in Puerto Rican culture, which is why the history of music was part of the cultural experience of the trip. The students talked with Los Pleneros de la Cresta, a famous plena music group, who taught them the history of plena and even showed them how to perform their music. The students also learned how to dance Bomba, a traditional music and dance genre from Puerto Rico, at a local Bomba workshop, guided by Rafael Maya. In Bomba the drummer follows the dancer instead of the dancer following the drums.

Namy commented, “This was the best experience of my life, being in nature for the whole week felt like being back home; there is always a first time for everything, and I did many things for the first time. I will never forget any detail of the trip.”

"This trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will never forget," Shugar said. "I was able to immerse myself in a culture full of incredible people that I was able to make lifelong relationships with."

About Alternative Spring Break 

The Penn State Alternative Breaks program provides opportunities for students to learn more about themselves, others, and the world around them through service. The program offers service trips throughout the academic year including service weekends, fall alternative breaks, alternative winter breaks, and alternative spring breaks. Each program is designed to encourage personal growth and reflection, promote civic engagement around a social issue, and immerse participants in a new community.