In the past year, UTampa students supported refugees in Italy, served the housing- and food-insecure in Seattle, and, in late May, implemented a conservation initiative in Ghana. Along with monthly weekend excursions around Florida, these service trips were put on by the PEACE Volunteer Center, the center of service learning at UTampa. 

The mission of these trips is for students to help communities around the U.S. and abroad while learning worldly lessons outside the classroom. Students develop leadership instincts, see other ways of life and form unique relationships. 

NEW SKILLS

First-year student Chase Robinson got involved with PEACE (the acronym stands for People Exploring Active Community Experiences) soon after she arrived on campus last fall. One of her first experiences was an overnight volunteer trip to Jacksonville, where she took note of the roles and responsibilities of the site leaders. 

By the spring, Robinson was ready to lead the eight students who signed up for the spring break PEACE trip to Seattle, where they would aid the homeless population and work in parks and food banks. Robinson coordinated transportation and meals and led reflection activities at the end of each day.

She was nervous at first, she said, but she was excited to step out of her comfort zone. In doing so, she was able to develop and refine her leadership style. “It was a learn-as-you-go situation,” said Robinson. “It was really helpful for me to think on my feet and try to do what was best at the time.”

NEW PERSPECTIVES

Last summer, PEACE sent students and one staff advisor, Brittany Garcia, director of community engagement, who oversees PEACE, to Siena, Italy, to help refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan access resources and develop and write résumés. The Spartans lived with host families to immerse themselves in the culture and were pushed to speak Italian and find their own way around.

“It was such a surreal experience,” said Sydney Roux ’28, who attended the trip. “It honestly has me completely speechless."

Roux, Garcia and the other volunteers heard personal stories from the refugees about their challenges.

“They were so vulnerable with us,” said Roux. “We met one man with a wife and 1-year-old daughter who had a smile on his face every day,” said Garcia. “I would’ve never known what he’d been through.” 

Similarly, students on the Seattle trip said they were most touched by their time at Mary’s Place, an organization that caters to families experiencing homelessness, where they spent two days volunteering.

Ellie Houck ’29 said it was eye-opening to meet the children. Robinson and Terah Smith ’28 had both volunteered with Spartans Against Homelessness at UTampa, where they only served single adults, and they wished that some of the services at Mary’s Place could be implemented in Tampa. 

One month after getting back from Seattle, Anna Rosen ’27 said she still thinks about Mary’s Place almost every day, and that organizations like that give her hope about the world. “The people that work there really care about the residents (of the shelter),” she said. 

NEW CONNECTIONS 

Before going to Seattle together, none of the eight students knew each other. Garcia said it is common for students to take that risk of traveling with people who are mere acquaintances. 

“The students that are coming are really brave,” she said. “A lot of them in Italy didn’t know each other, either, and they created really good bonds.”

Such bonds can lead to new opportunities. After Roux got back from Italy, a paid position in the PEACE office opened up for director of community outreach, and she was hired, and in addition to gaining professional experience, Roux has met friends through the volunteer center. She also keeps in touch with her host family from Siena. 

“It’s crazy to think that I have these connections around the world,” she said. 

MAKING IT HAPPEN

Garcia said that many students who attend PEACE trips become “frequent flyers” and gain a passion for service, like Robinson and Roux. And PEACE is not the only campus organization that runs such trips. The Office of Access and Community Programs offers an “alternative” spring break. This year, students on that trip visited Los Angeles to explore the city’s history and culture, meet community members and volunteer, and explore potential pathways for further education and professional development. 

To support all interested students, the University tries to make the experiences as accessible as possible, subsidizing some trip costs.

“UTampa offers service trips out of state and abroad because not only are students learning about and impacting a community need, they are also learning about that community by being immersed in it for a period of time,” said Stephanie Russell Krebs, vice president of student affairs and strategic initiatives. 

“When students reflect on these immersive experiences they are transformed.”

Volunteering in Seattle inspired Eyethu Simelane ’29 to get more involved with PEACE next semester. She had volunteered at food banks and other organizations at home in Eswatini (in southern Africa), and the spring break trip reminded her how good it feels to take a break from her own life and do things for other people. 

“This fall, I’m actually going to intentionally put it in my schedule from the beginning, so I stay accountable with it,” she said.

LEARN MORE

Read a daily account from the PEACE spring break trip to Seattle.