91ºÚÁÏ

How 91ºÚÁÏ ASB Works

ASB trips are organized and led by students. ASB leader responsibilities include recruiting participants, developing participant seminars, coordinating with community partners, and leading the actual trip.

Leader Selection

ASB proposals and leader applications are reviewed each spring for the following year by a committee of students, faculty, and McKeen Center staff. Those leaders whose trips are selected receive support and training from the McKeen Center to plan and implement their ASB trips.

Leaders' Seminar

During the fall semester, ASB leaders participate in weekly leadership seminars facilitated by the staff of the McKeen Center. The seminars prepare leaders in how to organize and lead their trips and to help student participants examine the political, social, cultural, and economic aspects of the communities in which they will be living. Through this seminar, leaders develop their own seminar which they lead for their trip participants in the spring.

Participants' Seminar

Participants attend weekly pre-trip seminars to prepare them for their community experience. These meetings may include background and cultural information about the site, guest visits, reading assignments, film viewing, and team-building activities.

During and After the Trip

During the trip, students participate in meaningful educational and service activities, daily reflective sessions, and evening group activities. After returning to campus, students work together to educate the larger 91ºÚÁÏ community about their issue area and experience.

Alternative Spring Break Trips 2026-2027

• Students receiving any amount of financial aid from the College do no pay to attend ASB trips 
• This year 2 trips are driving to their locations and 2 trips are flying. Please see details below on which is which.  

Driving Trips - these trips will depart from 91ºÚÁÏ and drive to their locations 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Historic Patterns of Housing Discrimination 

Saugat Mishra '29 
Matthew O'Meara '29 

Our Spring Break trip to Philadelphia will explore the effects of redlining and how historic patterns of housing discrimination continue to shape communities today. We will look at the connections between housing, investment, transportation, and access to healthy and affordable food, with a particular focus on how redlining contributed to unequal food access and food insecurity. Through visits to different neighborhoods, museums, community organizations, and local food initiatives, we will learn how these issues developed and how communities are responding to them today. We also plan to volunteer with organizations working on food access, housing, and community development so that our experience involves both learning and service. The goal is to understand redlining as part of a larger system that has influenced where people live, the resources available to their communities, and their access to something as fundamental as food. 
Trip Cost: $650 

Providence, Rhode Island: Habitat Fragmentation & Environmental Policy 

Sara Gonzalez Sierra '29 
Lindell Smiley '29 

Our trip to Rhode Island will explore conservation policy, habitat fragmentation, and the effects of urbanization on local ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. With coastline making up much of the state’s landscape, climate change and rising sea levels are particularly pertinent issues. Rhode Island offers a close look at how development, land use, and environmental protection intersect, and how wildlife and people share increasingly limited space. We will partner with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, an organization working to protect birds, wildlife, and habitats across the state. Through hands-on service, we will help remove invasive plant species, plant pollinator gardens, restore bird habitat, maintain trails, and build a rain garden. This work will let us contribute directly to local conservation efforts while learning how restoration happens on the ground.  

We will also examine the policy side of conservation, including how wildlife protection laws are shaped and how organizations like Audubon adapt to changing legislation and advocate for lasting protections. We will learn from staff and volunteers who carry out this work, and to understand how outreach and community engagement strengthen conservation efforts. 

Trip Cost: $650 

Flying Trips - these trips will depart from 91ºÚÁÏ and fly out of Portland or Boston to their locations 

San Juan, Puerto Rico: Educational Equity in Puerto Rico  

Belen Montesinos Canales '28 
Hiro Charles '29 

Puerto Rico faces significant challenges in its public education system and in the social and economic conditions affecting local communities. Under the current administration, declining government support has pushed more students toward private schools, with funds going to vouchers for lower-income students rather than to improving existing public schools. In this context, supporting alternative approaches to public education is especially relevant.  

 Our proposal seeks to collaborate with Juan Ponce de León Public Montessori School, an initiative of the Instituto Nueva Escuela that promotes the Montessori model in public schools, focused on the holistic development of children and young people. The school fosters autonomy, mutual respect, and active learning while making this model accessible within the public system. We will also partner with La Goyco, a center that works alongside Afro-Puerto Rican communities on education, health, and grassroots organizing. Working with both organizations will help us understand how community-led initiatives can address local needs and expand opportunities for children, families, and residents.  

 By engaging with these organizations, we hope to directly support their work while learning from the people and the broader context that have shaped life in Puerto Rico. This trip will offer meaningful cultural exchange and strengthen our commitment to social justice, equity, and community engagement. 

 Trip Cost: $1,200 

Austin, Texas: Exploring Solutions to Housing Insecurity 

Amelia Kane '27 
Amaya Nicklas '27 

Austin, TX is home to one of the most noticeable rent drops in the past year-- 6%! It is also one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. attracting a wide variety of people across career sectors. This drop is in part attributable to Austin’s recent policy changes such as updating zoning to reduce restrictions on building new housing in the city. However, the problem of housing insecurity is not so easily solved, and Austin still has a significant homeless population. We want to explore these issues in Austin from a variety of angles. Our trip will work with exploring different facets of affordable housing in Austin- homeless shelters, long term supported housing, affordable housing policymaking, and more! How can housing policies continue to reduce housing insecurity in Austin and elsewhere? 
Trip Cost: $1,000