From exploring the arts scene of Austin to traversing the swamps of the Everglades, the Center for Leadership and Community Engagement (CLCE) has a variety of experiences for this upcoming Fall Break. These opportunities grant Rollins students a unique chance to engage in service learning in communities across Florida and beyond.
“There are service trips that go out domestically and internationally, focused around specific impact areas,” said Sam Justice, Assistant Director of the CLCE. “And so, using the UN SDGs as a framework for defining impact work, a group of students will come together with a staff or faculty member and say I’m really passionate about environmentalism.”
The UN SDGs are a series of 17 Sustainable Development Goals working toward ending poverty and inequality, protecting the planet, and ensuring healthy and prosperous lives for all. Student leaders may choose one of these 17 commitments to focus on and turn into an actionable impact area to address during their Immersion.
“Then we’ll pair them with other students who think similarly about that SDG, and they’ll put together a trip that focuses on that impact area,” said Justice. “We have so many opportunities to learn about the issues facing our community.”
Immersions are a cornerstone of Rollins’ efforts to commit themselves to service. These experiences are created to educate students to be global citizens and responsible leaders in an increasingly global world. Immersions allow students to work with local nonprofit organizations to tackle a variety of social issues, from sustainability to racial injustice.
For the upcoming fall break, Rollins is featuring two distinct Immersion experiences:
“What Are You Doing in My Swamp?” is a four-day, three-night program in the Florida Everglades, centering on environmentalism and sustainability. Participants will collaborate with local conservation organizations to support one of Florida’s most crucial ecosystems. The experience is offered at no cost to students, covering all transportation, housing, and meals.
Justice spoke to how many local Immersion trips are completely free, allowing students accessible opportunities to travel outside of “the Rollins bubble.”
The second offering, “Advocacy Through the Arts,” is a five-day, four-night experience in Austin, Texas, focusing on equity and inclusion. This program explores how the arts and creative expression can be used to create positive social change. Partnering with local organizations, participants will learn how to promote equitable practices and build inclusive communities.
This experience comes with a $250 fee to cover all transportation, housing, and meals; however, scholarship consideration is available to increase accessibility.
Embry Burton (‘26), an Immersion facilitator for the “What Are You Doing in My Swamp?” opportunity, expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming experiences. “Students get to bond with people they wouldn’t otherwise get to meet,” Burton said. “Students learn about service and communities they wouldn’t otherwise get to see.”
Burton particularly highlighted the service learning during the Everglades trip. “We have some students that don’t know much about volunteering and don’t know much about environmentalism. I’m excited to see them learn those new things and get excited about future volunteering and environmentalism opportunities,” she said.
The Immersion program aims to select a diverse team of participants, composed of students, faculty, and staff. When selecting applicants, factors such as academic year, major, and previous Immersion experience are considered. Preference is given to first-time participants, to grant more people an opportunity to engage in this experience.
“I always say that as long as people go out, do service, have a good time, and come back safe, then I’m happy,” said Justice. “That’s at the core of what an Immersion does. We want people to connect, we want them to build community, and we want them to do service and engage in impact areas they’re passionate about. And we want them to have a good time.”
Immersions are formulated for students with these service-learning principles in mind. They give students the opportunity to engage in outside communities and come back to Rollins to create change within the local Winter Park community.
While applications for Fall Break Immersions have closed, students interested in participating in future immersions may apply for the week-long Alternative Spring Break Immersions in the Spring 2025 semester. Applications will be released closer to Spring Break. For more information about the Immersion program or the application process, students can contact immersion@rollins.edu.
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