Alternative Breaks

What previous leadership and/or volunteer & service experiences have you had?
This past summer I was part of the leadership staff at Camp Howard. I was a unit director for the 1st and 2nd graders who came to camp for the day. This unit consisted of 30 campers and 4 counselors whom I was in charge of. I am also the treasurer of the College of Democrats and I volunteer with multiple organizations. For example, I help students and community members register to vote and I work closely with the office of Lane County of Democrats. I volunteer with the National Society of Collegiate Scholars by holding toy drives for homeless shelters. Another service experience I've had is volunteering with the Sparrow Club in my hometown. The Sparrow Club helps
Their feedback and experiences led me to look into the different opportunities and places that Alternative Breaks offers. When I found the trip in San Francisco, I felt that this program would offer me more leadership and volunteering opportunities. My favorite aspect of this program is how University of Oregon students can get together to help out communities and discuss the social issues important to our communities. From what I have learned from other students, Alternative Breaks can be a starting place before volunteering for the Peace Corps or Teach for America. This spoke to me because Alternative Breaks will give more volunteer experience in these communities. This program caught my eye because I love to travel, help out communities and I believe it would be a great leadership opportunity for
Problem solving is a personal quality for me because as a team you must be able to solve problems and generate solutions. Problem solving helps my communication skills as a team leader. At my summer camp job, I used problem-solving skills when I was dealing with troubled campers. My team and I came together and discussed the different solutions we could use. Another personal quality is communication because open communication is needed for good team members in order to be skilled and tactful communicators. Open communication helps team members solve problems in a positive and smooth way. I enjoy having open communication between other students either in the College of Democrats or the National Society of Collegiate Scholars because you can learn more about each other and people can share their ideas without fear. For me, positive teamwork has been possible though practiced problem solving skills that I learned as a camp counselor and open communication with others. Positive teamwork either comes from problem solving skills as a camp counselor or openly communicating with other