FIU students to volunteer around the world during Spring Break


MIAMI (March 11, 2009) – While other students are looking forward to some rest and relaxation this spring break, close to 250 FIU students will be spending their time helping others.
            From March 13-22, the students will be participating in FIU’s Alternative Spring Break, a program that gives them a chance to volunteer all over the world.
            “Our motto is ‘changing the world, one break at a time,'” said Nestor Monclaude, marketing and public relations chairman with Alternative Breaks, a student organization founded nationally in 1991 and at FIU in 1993 that sends college volunteers throughout the world every year. “Students look at this as an opportunity to bring about change while visiting another part of the world. The most satisfying part is seeing the fruits of your labor before you go home.”
            Some FIU students will fight homelessness in Los Angeles, while others work on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual issues in Tallahassee. In Peru, students will work with the poor and in Thailand they will give a helping hand to disadvantaged children.
            “This is an amazing opportunity for our students,” said Rosa Jones, FIU vice president of Student Affairs. “It helps cultivate a sense of responsibility and consciousness that you cannot duplicate in a classroom. The groups participating are diverse and that is a true reflection of our FIU community.”

 Media contact: Madeline Baró at 305-348-2234.

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About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, FIU graduates more Hispanics than any other university in the country. Its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University.” In 2006 FIU was authorized to establish a medical school, which will welcome its first class in 2009. FIU’s College of Law recently received accreditation in the fastest time allowed by the American Bar Association.