LMU's Alternative Breaks (AB) Program is designed to offer trips based a diverse set of issues. Students are encouraged to apply for trips surrounding the issues they are most passionate about.
Past AB trips have included Arizona to study immigration issues or traveling to Puerto Rico to learn about sustainable living.
On each trip, participants are challenged to think critically about social conditions and the roots causes of problems. As a group, each trip generates and executes a post-trip action plan to create real social change in their communities.
If you are interested in the Alternative Breaks Program, we encourage you to check out our student-produced films from our past AB Film Festival.
For any questions please email Jenni Mendez.
Alternative Breaks 2022-2023
*scholarships available
Winter Break
None for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Spring Break (February 25-March 4, 2023)
Trip: Appalachia
Description: This AB trip will learn about the History and culture of Appalachia, its people, its economic parameters, and its coal industry. Discuss current issues facing Appalachia in this time of transition from fossil fuels and see firsthand some of the local environmental impacts of our coal industry as well as the social impacts of our current natural gas boom. Work alongside some of our best community service partners in what is at once America's richest and poorest region.
Trip: Belize
Description: This AB, in partnership with St. John’s College, a Jesuit community college in Belize City, will focus on education justice and its impact on marginalized communities. Taking note from Jesuit tradition, students will learn how to center social justice through their educational experience, such as teaching “the whole person”. This trip will help cultivate a knowledge of education through the Jesuit mission: advancing faith through the promotion of justice.
Trip: El Salvador
Description: This AB will focus on the role of women’s rights and leadership in rural Salvadoran communities, while highlighting the impact that climate change has had on the current migration situation in El Salvador, Mexico, and the USA.
Trip: Costa Rica
Description: Participants of AB Costa Rica will learn about the reality of immigration policies and refugees, racial inequity, gender and LGBTQ+ discrimination, and environmental degradation and its effect on impoverished populations. By considering how these issues intersect, participants will be able to form a deeper understanding of Costa Rican history and culture, and will be prompted to reflect on the reality of these issues in the United States as well.
Trip: Puerto Rico
Description: Participants of AB Puerto Rico will learn about poverty and environmental issues that affect the residents of Puerto Rico through the lens of sustainability and food justice. In partnership with Plenitud Puerto Rico, participants will learn about local agricultural practices, engage in different service opportunities in the community, and be immersed in Puerto Rican culture. Participants will return with a better idea of sustainable practices for food production and consumption, along with a deeper understanding of how communities can effectively function while respecting the surrounding environment.
Summer Break (May 8-18, 2023)
Trip: Morocco
Description: In partnership with the Moroccan Center for Arabic Studies, this AB trip will center dialogue and community around human rights, especially as it pertains to the Islamic culture and refugee communities in and around Morocco. Activities will include learning about the French influence in Morocco, including take some French classes, while understanding the intersectionalities of current refugees in and around Morocco through human right activist and NGO guest speakers.