They were trips that changed Angela Mott’s life.

Not just because she got to give back by helping build two Habitat for Humanity homes in a poverty-stricken community in South Carolina.

Not just because doing service for others made her feel good while also making her think about poverty and social inequality.

It was the friendships she made with the other participants in Brock University’s Alternative Reading Week trips.

It was the experiential learning that helped her develop leadership abilities she will use forever.

“They were the most amazing trips of my life,” said Mott, a fourth-year Geography student. “They were definitely transformative trips for me.”

It’s a very concrete way of helping. The house will be there forever.

She said the community service aspect was both rewarding and eye opening.

“It’s a very concrete way of helping. The house will be there forever,” she said.

Mott said the relationships she forged with other Brock students she likely wouldn’t have met outside the trip are ones she’ll have for the rest of her life.

“Breaking down the boundaries of who you usually speak to at Brock is a big part of it,” she said.
Mott went to Sumter, South Carolina in 2014 as part of a group of 30 students and staff. In 2015, she returned with a new group, this time as a student leader.

Kristen Smith, Manager of Student and Community Outreach, said there are still a few spots available for the upcoming trip – which goes from Feb. 13-21.

“We are building a home for a family there,” she said, noting Brock’s crew will be the first on site and when they leave the home will be fully framed.

“There’s no construction experience required. They work on the site with professionals guiding them.”

The cost for the trip is $770 Canadian and includes transportation, accommodation and meals in South Carolina. Participants are only responsible for their meals during the bus ride to and from the community.

This is the fifth Alternative Reading Week trip Brock has organized to Sumter, which has a large Habitat for Humanity subdivision.

Smith said the hands-on experience of building and making a difference is just one part of the trip.

It’s the conversations and reflections on poverty, in-equality and service that transform the trip into a journey for most of the participants, she said.

“They are learning by doing and learning by critical reflection,” she said. “Students bring their perspectives from their own experience but also from their areas of study.”

Another contingent of Brock students and staff are heading to El Salvador with Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village program during the same week. There, they will also help build a home.

For more information contact Smith at Kristen.smith@brocku.ca or by phone at 905-688-5550 ext. 3845.