Alternative Breaks
The mission of the Alternative Breaks program is to promote community engagement within the UNLV student body through community-based learning experiences that focus on pertinent social topics.
About
Alternative Breaks hosts both in-town Immersions and out-of-town Trips. Alternative Break experiences include activities such as service projects, speaking panels with community leaders, and tours with local organizations. Through these experiences, students can learn about the impacts of the selected topic, dissect the root causes of the interconnected issues, and bring back new knowledge and skills for positive social change within their communities. The overarching goal of the program is to develop community collaborators through education, community engagement, dialogue, and reflection.
Our Values
We aim to plan experiences in accordance with our five core values:
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We practice this value both in our mindset and in our logistical planning. We encourage group members to leave out the complexity of their day-to-day lives to focus on the topic and the experience. We plan our experiences with simple accommodations, shared meals, and collective processes to minimize cost. Our focus is on group learning.
We build a sense of belonging through the relationships we build as groups and the meaningful interactions we have with our partnering organizations who give us their expertise and knowledge of the selected topic.
We aim to work “with” our community partners and travel communities, rather than doing work “to” or “for” them. Trusting their experience, we listen to their guidance and seek to understand their methods for creating positive social change.
We intentionally focus our community engagement activities towards opportunities that contribute to positive social impacts. We work to understand our histories, structures, and systems, and we pursue both short-term and long-term change. This process can be slow and challenging but also rich and empowering.
We view Alt Breaks experiences as one step along the journey for students’ development into active citizens. We encourage continued learning, service, and engagement in the topics after the event concludes.
Immersions Information
Immersions are free, one-day community based-learning experiences that occur within or around the Las Vegas region. Students should expect their experience to include community engagement and learning activities, as well as individual and group reflection.
Immersions may focus locally on topics such as:
- Food and housing access
- Mutual aid
- Harm reduction
- Indigenous sovereignty
- Ecology and conservation
When you register for an Alternative Break Immersion, you commit to the following:
- Participating fully in your immersion activities
- Engaging meaningfully with your peers
- Displaying an openness to learning
- Expanding your comfort zone
When our staff plan an Alternative Break Immersion, we commit to providing the following:
- Community outreach to organize all immersion activities
- Topic education and dialogue with topic leaders
- Community service project
- Main meal for the day (ex. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner) and snacks
- Transportation to and from the main UNLV campus
Trip Information
Trips are paid, multi-day community based-learning experiences that occur outside of the Las Vegas region. Our main focus is service and community-based learning. Students should expect their experience to include community engagement and learning activities during the day and structured reflection time every evening.
Students interested in attending an Alternative Break Trip should apply for trips that will work with their personal schedules. Our program offers three types of trips to try to meet different schedule needs:
- Weekend trips: Paid trips that last approximately three days.
- Week-long trips: Paid trips that typically last five to seven days. Students can expect an approximate balance of 80% experiential learning (Monday-Thursday) with the remaining 20% dedicated to recreation (Friday).
Previous years’ trips have included:
- Food sovereignty and access (San Diego, CA)
- Mass incarceration (Los Angeles, CA)
- Advancing sexual and reproductive health (San Francisco, CA)
When you apply for an Alternative Break and make your deposit, you commit to the following:
- Participating fully in your trip
- Engaging meaningfully with your peers
- Displaying an openness to learning
- Expanding your comfort zone
There are also mandatory time commitments* for student participants. These include:
- All pre-trip meetings (usually two or three meetings to meet your trip peers, review the schedule, provide the packing list, and answer any questions)
- Travel dates (number of days depends on each trip)
- SLL Impact Awards - An event to reconnect with trip peers and celebrate, reflect, and share your learning experiences with other students
*The only exception for absence from these events would be a conflicting class during that time that you communicate to your trip leaders prior to occurring.
In the 2025-26 academic year, Alternative Break Trips are free of cost to students. Trip participants are required to attend their pre-trip meeting to keep their spot on the trip
Included Items
Trip fees cover the following:
- Lodging
- Meals
- Volunteer fees
- Group activities for the week
- Ground transportation.
Note: We aim to keep trips simple by booking shared lodging accommodations (such as rental homes, retreat spaces, cabins, or hostels), preparing and cooking group meals, and traveling together in either a van or public transportation at all times.
Excluded Items
The program does not cover the following:
- The cost of flights to and from trip destinations for flight-based trips
- As-needed purchases (medication for a particular need, replacing a forgotten item from the packing list, etc.)
- Items you choose to purchase for yourself while on the trip (souvenirs, etc.).
Become An Alternative Breaks Leader
Our staff team consists of student Program Assistants and university Staff Learning Partners. If you are interested in helping to plan and lead an Alternative Break Trip, please read more about these roles below and follow the instructions provided for more information.
- Want to be part of a national movement, gain transferable skills, have your Alt Break cost covered, and make awesome friends and connections at UNLV? Then consider applying to be an Alternative Break program assistant!
- In a typical school year site leader applications open in March, interviews are conducted in April, and selection is notified in May. Depending on the application pool we may reopen applications in the summer to get more students involved in the program.
- Positions are generally filled by the end of September, but feel free to check us out on social media (@UNLVSLL) or visit our hiring website to see if we have available positions.
The Alternative Break learning partner is a UNLV staff/faculty member or greater community member who assists, supports, and empowers the student program assistant through the duration of planning and implementation of our experiential, community-based learning events.
Typical roles include:
- Serving as a topic expert for educational activity planning and facilitating
- Speaking on a guest panel of community leaders
- Providing connections to service projects
- Recruiting student participants for Alt Break events
Learning partners are sought out throughout the academic year; however, potential learning partners may inquire about this role at any time. Email altbreaks@unlv.edu to express your interest in this role or if you have any questions for the team.
Meet The Team
Planning and hosting the Alternative Break Trips requires the commitment and collaboration of a group of students, faculty, and staff dedicated to the mission of our organization. Below is a list of our current team members:
- Angelica De La Cruz, program assistant for immersions
- Aren De Leon, program assistant for trips
- Victoria Esquivel, program assistant for immersions
- Sydney Mitchell, program assistant for trips
- Leanne Soter, program coordinator/staff learning partner
Contact Us
Email altbreaks@unlv.edu with any questions or concerns. You can also follow us on Instagram to get daily updates, engage with the SLL office at different events, and learn what to expect next from Alternative Breaks!
Newsletter
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