My Alternative Spring Break

Over this past spring break, as I was winding down from winter term and gearing up for my study abroad to Austria in the spring, I decided I wanted to do a little more than go home and sit around for 12 days. Luckily, the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) office had the perfect opportunity for me: an alternative spring break trip! I have always wanted to get involved with the Northfield community, and this program allowed me to get to know the community better and see how I directly and indirectly impact my surroundings. 

Goals

The point of having these alternative spring breaks is to give students the opportunity to learn about and take action to address the social justice issues affecting the partner sites. The trip I chose stayed close to Northfield and focused on food and community. We got to work with  Sharing Our Roots farm, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Organics Recycling Facility, Curbside Compost Cooperative, and the Community Action Center food shelves. I found it to be a really rewarding experience and it helped me be more conscious about my choices with food and waste.

My Favorite Parts

Meeting new people! I got to meet a ton of new people from Carleton that I had never gotten the chance to interact with before. It was a fun week and a half that we spent together learning, cooking (delicious!!!!!!) food, and traveling to parts of Northfield and the greater Minnesota area. Now I have some new friends!

Working with things hands-on was another really cool aspect. All of the partner sites we worked with had us get our hands dirty, and get a sense of what they do with and for the community. At Sharing Our Roots, we set up night vision cameras to catch photos of the nocturnal wildlife and repotted some plants. At the SMSC Organics Recycling Facility, we got to walk around the compost piles and feel the finished products. At Curbside Compost Cooperative, we learned about local composting and helped them prepare the buckets they sent out to the participating Northfield residents. At the CAC food shelves, we transported the grocery store products to the food shelf, worked a couple of shifts, and interacted with the locals.

Was it worth it?

While I didn’t get to go home or see my family over that spring break, I would not have traded my experience for anything. I learned so much about sustainability surrounding food and how important it is that we not only compost/recycle but also do it CORRECTLY. I also got to know Northfield, the town that I am living in and contributing to for all four of my college years, a lot better. 

If you have even the slightest interest in getting involved in the Northfield community, DO IT. The CCCE offers so much more than just the alternative spring break trip. They have so many opportunities to learn about and help combat issue areas in Northfield and on Carleton’s campus, and I have found it to be a personally fulfilling experience that I will definitely try to be involved with again. 

Katelyn (she/her) is a junior at Carleton from Las Vegas, Nevada, and a psychology major with minors in cognitive science and German. She is a proud first-generation student who loves to participate in all things happening around campus. She is involved with Carleton’s student-run first-gen organization 1Gen, as well as KRLX, and Babyteeth. When she is not in the gym playing volleyball or lifting (super heavy) weights, she can be found hanging out with her friends or in the small park next to the Weitz, specifically on the east-most swing.