Dispersing all across the country from New York to Los Angeles, from New Orleans to Arizona, participants in the Pace Center’s Breakout Princeton Civic Action Trips tackled social problems hands-on and put into practice the University’s unofficial motto “Princeton in ...(back to the article)
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As the staff adviser for this program, I’d like to share a few extra highlights: -This is the first year for this program, which is a very student-driven one. All four trips were designed, organized, and facilitated by student leaders. As was indicated, given the positive feedback already received from all groups, we hope to not only continue but to expand the program. If you’re a Princeton student and would like to learn how to get involved, email breakout@, or just contact me: philipm@. -One thing we’re proud of is that the trips included both graduate students and undergraduate students. We think Breakout Princeton is a unique opportunity for these students to interact on equal ground, learn from one another, and build relationships that will last beyond the length of the trip. -We were fortunate and grateful to have had strong support from many campus partners. The Carl A. Fields Center and Outdoor Action helped train the leaders. Various departments and programs, including Princeton Environmental Institute, Center for African American Studies, Program in American Studies, Near Eastern Studies, and African Studies, contributed funding to help make these trips affordable for all students. And a number of faculty and staff members helped the students make connections with relevant people on the ground and explore their issues before leaving campus. -In addition to organizing the trips themselves, each set of student leaders organized a series of learning activities (conversations, collaborative research, visits with professors, films, etc.) for all trip participants to try to get a handle on the issues before spring break. And they are all facilitating a “what do we do now?” phase, where students will decide whether/how to share what they’ve learned/experienced with folks here at Princeton (stay tuned for upcoming events!) and whether/how to stay connected to the organization/community they partnered with. So each trip was the core part of what will be a nearly semester-long experience involving students both in learning-focused activities and community work. Breakout Princeton isn’t just about “giving back.” It’s about providing students with opportunities to take control over their civic education. Students both explore and address an issue or set of issues – determined by them – in partnership with a community and an organization that are dealing with those issues every day. As Mary said in the article, the hope is that students who participate in this program will be better equipped to solve important public problems in the future. -Chelsea Craigie, mentioned in the article as “the coordinator…” is one of five students who work with me to manage the overall program. The other coordinators are Braeden Kepner-Krauss, Johna Van Stelten, Yang Cai, and Erica Greil. -There were 46 students who participated in these four trips. 11 were either trip leaders or Breakout Princeton coordinators. 35 were selected from over 70 applications. Phil Martin Pace Center
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