A reflection – Tayyaba Akhtar
I was first introduced to MAlt (Middlebury Alternative Break Trips) when I started working at the CCE October of 2021 as a Communications Intern. MAlt is a program that sends 12 students (2 trip leaders and 10 participants) on a service trip during February Break. I applied to be a participant in the trip to New Orleans and was accepted. I was excited to go on a service trip because it was my first immersive experience. We had a couple of our pre-departure meetings and we were getting ready to leave for our trip in February, but Middlebury experienced a COVID outbreak in December and we found out our trips were canceled because of that. We were given the option to do a Vermont based trip which I participated in because the community of Vermont was not very known to me as well as I was a freshman, though I was sad about not being able to go to New Orleans. We were able to explore different parts of Vermont such as the community of Middlebury and even further places like Stowe. Though it was an adjustment it turned into an enjoyable and fruitful experience.
When the applications for the trip leaders came out this year, I applied to be a trip leader because I wanted to get involved with the group again and this time take on a leadership role. I was assigned to lead the trip to New Orleans, which was again themed to be Privilege and Poverty. That got me very excited to finally not only go on the trip that was canceled previously, but also to lead the trip. In New Orleans we were going to work with HandsOn New Orleans on their community park and community orchard projects.
We were selected as trip leaders in the spring semester and worked on the trip for the rest of the semester. Along with this we worked on the trip during the summer break to make sure that everything was well-planned and ensure a smooth start in the fall semester. We received a lot of support from the CCE in planning our trip, including a half-credit class in the fall tailored towards support for the planning of the trip.
We selected our trip participants around the end of October. The applications opened a couple weeks prior and after all the applications were submitted, my co-lead and I read to select participants. We made a rubric with the questions that were asked and how effectively they were answered and scored everyone based on that. We selected people with the highest score. We had two meetings with our participants before winter break, and then weekly meetings over J-term to prepare for our time in New Orleans.
When we reached New Orleans it was an exciting time for all of us, because no one on the trip had been to the city before. We arrived on Friday and had the weekend to explore the city as we started working on Monday. Since we were living very close to the French Quarter, we went exploring around the area. We saw a a Mardi Gras Parade and took a Swamp Tour, where we saw a lot of alligators. When we started working, we spent Monday and Tuesday at the community park where we helped in making signs for the playing ground and eliminating trees in the park. The park was one of the most important areas for New Orleans. Because the city is very vulnerable to flooding, marshes and green spaces are extremely important. We spent our next two days working at a community orchard where we built benches, picnic tables, and garden boxes (2 of each). The community orchard was located in an area where people were not able to afford a lot of fruits and vegetables. The orchard was an effort to grow these, and have them available to the neighborhood for free. We worked till noon each day and had the rest of the day available to us to explore the city! All of the participants were very eager to participate and were very involved that made the process very smooth. The biggest challenge in the community was the transportation in the city. We were using public transportation which was not very efficient therefore there was a lot of planning and getting to a place was an experience in itself. Though that experience gave the feel of how people navigate the city and since accessibility was an aspect of our trip, it gave a true feel.
MAlt was one of the most fun and exciting experiences for me. I was very lucky to have a great co-lead and amazing participants to work with!