Eagles give back through Alternative Spring Break Experience

While many college students spend spring break traveling or relaxing, a group of students chose a different path—dedicating their time to hands-on service in Morehead State University’s service region. Through an Alternative Spring Break Experience, these students stepped away from the traditional break to give back, build relationships, and gain real-world skills that extend far beyond the classroom.

Fourteen students participated in this year’s Alternative Spring Break Experience with Christian Appalachian Project (CAP). The experience was led by Andrew Sexton (Class of 2020, 2022), coordinator of service learning and supported through grant funding from the EngageKY+ Volunteer Generation Fund.

CAP, an interdenominational nonprofit based in southeast Kentucky, provides hunger and poverty relief, home repair, and disaster recovery services throughout the region. Students were placed across multiple service sites in Floyd County and surrounding counties, each with its own set of projects and families. From home repair to general maintenance, each group contributed to improving living conditions while building relationships with homeowners and fellow volunteers.

“This experience reinforced my teamwork skills. All the teamwork activities I had been a part of before this were not about building stuff. This was the first time that I teamed up with close to a dozen people and actively participated in building, which requires seamless coordination and communication,” said Labindra Dhami, a sophomore finance major from Nepal.

“From an academic standpoint, this helped me grow further in my teambuilding, networking, and problem-solving skills that are important to maintain as an aspiring business owner. It allowed me to test and extend my knowledge of construction that I had already learned with my father, who owns a construction company,” said Allyson Weinert, a sophomore small business management and entrepreneurship major from Flemingsburg.

“This experience was about more than just completing projects—it was about learning how to work alongside others toward a common goal,” said Jared Hunter McGlone, a senior, chemistry major from Olive Hill and Undergraduate Engagement Fellow. “We were placed with new teams, new environments, and new challenges, and through that, we built strong connections. The teamwork and sense of community we developed is something I’ll carry forward, both professionally and personally.”

The group represented a wide range of student experiences and organizations, including MSU’s Football Team, George M. Luckey Honors Program, Herron Leadership Program, and TALONS Program.

“We are incredibly grateful to Christian Appalachian Project for continuing to provide these transformative service experiences,” said Sexton. “Our students not only gained hands-on skills, but also a deeper understanding of the communities they were serving and the impact they can have when they work together.”

For more information about the Center for Career Development & Experiential Education, call 606-783-2233 or email careerservices@moreheadstate.edu.

For more information about the Christian Appalachian Project, please visit https://www.christianapp.org.

Pictured (back row, left to right): Zander Gulley (sophomore, mechanical & manufacturing technology major, Ewing), Allyson Weinert, Neil Adams (freshman, electronics & computer engineering technology major, Hyden), Thomas Schwartz IV (senior, construction & civil engineering technology major, Treynor, Iowa), Alejandro Herrera (senior, construction & civil engineering technology major, San Jacinto, California). Front row (left to right): Andrew Sexton (Class of 2020, 2022), San Linh Vu (freshman, computer science major, Vietnam), Jenna Holloway (freshman, nursing major, Oak Hill, Ohio), Sophia Combs (freshman, university studies major, Ekron), Trey McHugh (senior, creative writing major, Winchester), Gage Collett (sophomore, space systems engineering major, Hyden), William Vincent-Robert Miranda (junior, legal studies major, Winchester), Labindra Dhami, Keagan Branscome (sophomore, biomedical sciences major, Louisa), and Jared Hunter McGlone.