UWM Honors College students and staff stand in a community garden in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward. (Benjamin Schneider photo)
UWM students prepare land for a community garden by picking weeds and digging holes for fence posts. (Benjamin Schneider photo)
Alex Swanson (left) and Ashlyn Todryk carry an exercise bike out the fitness room at Einstein Charter School in New Orleans. (Peter Sands photo)
UWM students paint the walls of the fitness room at Einstein Charter School. (Peter Sands photo)
Students take a guided tour of the historic Saint Louis Cemetery No. 2. (Peter Sands photo)
Honors College students (from left) Aaron Arendt, Mary Rebout, Nancy Martinez-Ramirez, Angeli Kramer, Emma Cowen, Kristen Leer, Mariah Schaller and Ashlyn Todryk stand in Crescent Park on the bank of the Mississippi River. (Peter Sands photo)
A group of UW-Milwaukee Honors College students decided to forgo beaches and tans in favor of an “alternative spring break” in New Orleans. During their six days in the city, the students worked on community service projects and learned about the city’s history and culture.
The group worked on a community garden in the city’s Lower Ninth Ward, an area that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They also painted and refurbished a charter school’s fitness room.
“We could see how special the work we were doing was to other people,” said Emma Cowen, a UWM sophomore who went on the trip. “It felt like we had the power to make change in a community that isn’t getting a lot of attention.”
