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Offerings

Considering Applying? See Below!

When applying to AB, individuals can apply as a student participant, student leader, or staff/faculty advisor. Please also keep in mind that winter, spring, and summer have different pre-AB meeting dates. See below for a breakdown of this academic year's pre-AB meetings.

Winter Pre-AB Meetings - Puerto Rico & El Salvador

  1. October 24, 2025 (3-5pm)
  2. November 7, 2025 (3-5pm)
  3. November 14, 2025 (3-5pm)

Spring Pre-AB Meetings - Belize, Costa Rica, North Carolina, Virginia

  1. October 24, 2025 (3-5pm)
  2. November 14, 2025 (3-5pm)
  3. January 30, 2026 (3-5pm)
  4. February 20, 2026 (3-5pm)

Summer Pre-AB Meetings - Namibia

  1. October 31, 2025  (2-4pm) - mandatory AB Mixer
  2. November 14, 2025 (3-5pm)
  3. January 30, 2026 (3-5pm)
  4. February 20, 2026 (3-5pm)
  5. April 10, 2026 (3-5pm)

Student Leader Meetings

  1. September 26, 2025(3-4:30pm) - winter, spring, summer
  2. October 3, 2025 (3-4:30pm) - winter, spring, summer
  3. January 23, 2026 (3-4:30pm) - spring only
  4. March 6, 2026 (3-4:30pm) - summer only
See below for the locations, focuses, and community partners for this current academic year's AB. Click "Application Information" for more details on how to apply!
Application Information

2025-26 Alternative Breaks

AB Puerto Rico (Between December 12 - 20, 2025) - $1,600

Food Sovereignty, Farm Rehabilitation, Organic Food Production, Agroforestry Conservation, Sustainable Farming Practices 
On this Alternative Break, participants will get to explore the food system in Puerto Rico and learn from hands-on experiences how community-based initiatives in Puerto Rico are pioneering the road to reaching food sovereignty. Together with locals, partner agroecological farms and community members, participants will engage in service-learning projects such as farm rehabilitation, organic food production, agroforestry conservation, and rainwater management. Participants will not only learn sustainability techniques from hands-on experience but also understand what it means to be of service, and how to invoke a service mindset in their everyday lives. 
Community Partner: Plentitud 
SDGs: Zero Hunger / Good Health & Well-Being / Responsible Consumption and Production 

AB El Salvador (Between January 2 - 10, 2026) - $1,600

Immigration, Economic Policies & Migration, Women’s Rights, Salvadorian Civil War 
On this Alternative Break, participants will get to engage in conversations with different speakers, grassroots organization leaders, rural community members, and youth groups. Participants will learn about and humanize immigration and its root causes as well as economic public policies that impact people's livelihood. Additionally, participants will learn about economic and social inequalities, women's rights, human rights, historic memory, the civil war and post-era, and nonviolence and its importance in how one carries out dialogues and actions about issues affecting our communities. 
Community Partner: CRISPAZ 
SDGs: Clean Water and Sanitation / Reduced Inequalities / Climate Action / Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 

AB Belize (Between February 27 - March 7, 2026) - $1,600

Legacies of colonization: Language, Education, Social Mobility 
On this Alternative Break, participants will get to focus on education justice and its impact on marginalized communities. Taking note from Jesuit tradition through work with the Jesuit college in Belize City, students will learn how to center social justice through their educational experience, such as teaching “the whole person.” This AB will also help participants cultivate a knowledge of education through the Jesuit mission of advancing faith through the promotion of justice. 
Community Partner: St. John’s College 
SDGs: Quality Education / Decent Work and Economic Growth / Responsible Consumption and Production 

AB Costa Rica (Between February 27 - March 7, 2026) - $1,600

Immigration Realities, Xenophobia, Afro-Latinos, Environment Injustices, Environment Activism
On this Alternative Break, participants will learn about the reality of immigration policies and refugees, racial inequity and discrimination, as well as 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. 
SDGs: Decent Work and Economic Growth / Reduced Inequalities / Sustainable Cities and Communities / Responsible Consumption and Production / Climate Action / Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

AB North Carolina (Between February 27 - March 7, 2026) - $800

Sustainable Manufacturing, Innovation, Alternative Business Models, Community Place-Making, Organizing Industry 
On this Alternative Break, participants will focus on hands-on exploration of fast fashion and sustainable textile manufacturing in North Carolina. Participants will be able to participate in factory tours, workshops, and discussions with industry professionals in a way that supports insights on circularity and worker-owned enterprises. Participants will leave this program with a better understanding of value chains and community-centered production.   
SDGs: Decent Work and Economic Growth / Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure / Responsible Consumption and Production 

AB Virginia (Between February 27 - March 7, 2026) - $800

Slave Trade History, Plantation System, Indigenous Knowledge, Migrant Inclusion, “Glocal” Advocacy (Local and Global) 
On this Alternative Break, participants will visit Richmond, Virginia, which was once the capital of the Confederacy, and learn about its enduring legacy of segregation that is physically woven into its infrastructure (e.g., plantation systems and education policies). Participants will explore the powerful intersection of African American history in Richmond, from slave trade to Tabacco production, and the resilience of its Indigenous communities through a one-of-a-kind experience that connects local and global (glocal) perspectives on social justice, ecology, and community action. Throughout the program, participants will also learn about the state of Virginia’s work in fostering regional integration and empowering the leadership of Indigenous, Black, and Brown voices. Through hands-on projects and conversations with community leaders, this immersive journey will challenge participants’ perspectives, inspire advocacy, and equip participants to make a lasting impact in your community and beyond.  
SDGs: Quality Education / Reduced Inequalities / Sustainable Cities and Communities / Climate Action / Partnerships for the Goals 
Community Partner: Highland Support Project

AB Namibia (Between May 17 - June 1, 2026) - $2,400

Colonial Settlement, Oppression, Apartheid, Racial segregation, Socio-Political and Economic Impacts
On this Alternative Break, participants will get an inside glimpse into Namibia's legacies of apartheid, which is a white supremacist system in which black citizens were forcefully removed from their homes, restricted and confined within tribal homelands according to their ethnicity, while whites occupied towns and cities and controlled the resources.  Although apartheid officially ended in the early 1990’s, the impacts of the oppressive system remain and impact many sectors of society. Participants will also delve into liberation struggle by learning how everyday people worked to overturn and dismantle racial segregation and minority rule. Participants will hear stories from the local people, community experts and organizations that have been and continue to be committed to improving and strengthening their communities and their countries. Participants will also be invited to consider how citizens in the U.S. have struggled for equal rights and liberation from oppressive systems as well as compare and contrast differences and similarities among the two nations.   
Community Partner: Center for Global Education and Experience (CGEE) via Augsburg University  
SDGs: No Poverty / Good Health & Well-Being / Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions