The Enchanting Challenge Blog

Meet Joanne Dennis, the Alternative Breaks Coordinator for Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.  She has some wonderful and inspiring insight to shed upon service trips and service in general, from the destinations of her service trips, to the effects they have had upon her students.

Can you give me a brief description of your job?

I am the Alternative Breaks Coordinator for Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.  I work in the Center for Service and Action with a team of LMU students to coordinate domestic and international volunteer trips for LMU students, staff and faculty. 

How did you come to work for your job? Was there some sort of service that you did in your past that inspired you to work for service within your career?

I always knew that I wanted to work in a career that somehow contributes to the world.  I got my Bachelors and Masters of Social Work, and worked in a variety of social service environments, both domestic and international.  Most recently, I was a foster care social worker before coming to LMU.

What kinds of service trips have you organized?  (i.e., to where, what kind of service work was involved, what kinds of activities)

We have a wide variety of trips—all over the U.S. and internationally.  This year we’re sponsoring 17 different trips, spanning 7 countries and 4 continents.  Check out our Alternative Breaks website at www.lmu.edu/csa for an idea about the variety of trips we sponsor.

What kind of feedback do you normally get from the students?

Students and staff love these trips, and often say that they’re life changing experiences.  Our motto is “changing the world, one student at a time.”  Although we can’t have too much of an impact on a community in 1-2 weeks of service,  our goal is for each trip to have a big impact on the students, with the hope that they’ll carry this experience with them for the rest of their lives, no matter which career they choose.

Is there one specific story from a student’s experience that jumps out at you?

Inspired by his Alternative Breaks trips to the Dominican Republic and Cambodia, LMU senior Brock Seraphin decided to start a microlending program with one of our local AB sites in California’s Central Valley.  The program is the first of its kind to support farm workers in the U.S., and current LMU students will get the chance to volunteer with the program while on their Alternative Breaks trip in March.

Are students from other universities allowed to go through Loyola and take part in your alternative spring breaks?

No, all participants must be LMU students, staff, or faculty.  If non-LMU students are interested in going on a volunteer trip, I suggest they check out Break Away: www.alternativebreaks.org.  This is the national organization that works with over 500 Alternative Breaks programs in the U.S.