Albright College’s president will join a group of students for a spring break trip to Haiti to help build and sustain wells.
Lex O. McMillan, III., Ph.D., and eight Albright students will take part in the Alternative Spring Break program the week of March 13, partnering with the nonprofit organization Haiti Outreach.
Co-founded by Albright alumnus Neil Van Dine ’88, Haiti Outreach works directly with communities in the Caribbean nation on education, access to clean drinking water, economic development, and other locally initiated projects.
“Haiti is a fascinating country that deserves better and has the capacity to do better,” said McMillan, who has long been interested in the country. “Haiti Outreach is but one of many non-governmental organizations working to help the Haitian people realize a better life. I think there would be great benefit for Albright College to become a formal partner in that work.”
The Haiti trip is an outgrowth of a 2013 meeting between Van Dine and Adam John, Ph.D., associate professor of French and Spanish. John, who serves as one of the advisers of the spring break trip, hopes the experience will help students to better grasp the reality of Haiti’s current social and cultural state.
“For me, it’s really important to provide students with an opportunity to directly interact with Haitian culture,” said John. “It’s this type of experience that will change their perception of Haiti.”
McMillan hopes to explore the possibilities of a longer-term collaboration between Albright and Haiti Outreach, whose board of directors includes College trustee John Schultz ’86, executive vice president and general counsel for Hewlett-Packard Co.
In addition to the Haiti trip, 25 Albright students will participate in three domestic Alternative Spring Break trips:
*Broken Arrow, Okla.: Students will return to Safari Sanctuary to help care for the animals at the wildlife rescue organization.
*San Marcos, Texas: Students will help with flood relief efforts in the area.
*Reading, Pa.: Students will remain near campus, volunteering at Opportunity House and neighboring 13th and Union Elementary School.
Albright has been running Alternative Spring Break trips since 2006.
