A&T students use break for service

Doesn’t a free, week-long trip to an island off the coast of Venezuela sound like a dream vacation?
While some students enjoyed the comfort of their homes and vacationed with their families for Spring Break 2009, one group of North Carolina A&T University students spent their break providing community service in another country.
Eight selected students and two chaperons went to Trinidad and Tobago from Feb. 28 to March 7 on a community service and ambassadors project.
The trip was sponsored by Chancellor Stanley F. Battle and the sophomore class, and funded by the university. The idea was proposed by Dianne Williams, a native of Trinidad and a professor in African American Experience. Williams had previously taken students with her to the island in 2006 and she presented her class with the culture and the experiences that her former students gained, which inspired the group of students to participate in this year’s project.
Wayne Kimball, Jr., sophomore class president, Kendra Gaskins, sophomore class vice president, and Jasmine Johnson met with Williams several times and wrote a proposal along with a presentation to the chancellor.
Battle later took the information and a list compiled by the sophomore class e-board and selected the group of eight sophomore honors students for the trip. Students spoke with animal shelter and educational representatives in Trinidad to find out what necessities would be needed and they began to collect supplies. The students provided computers, school supplies and pet care supplies for the shelter.
The A&T representatives also visited several schools during each day of their trip such as the Naparima School for Girls, St. George’s Academy, and the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
During their visits to the schools, the A&T students gave out Aggie souvenirs, brochures, and applications and shared their experiences at the university to encourage the Trinidadian students to become future Aggies.
Students got to enjoy the full cultural experience of Trinidad.
”The country has such a rich history,” said Jasmine Johnson, a sophomore print journalism major from Frankfort, Ky. “I feel like I learned more about the country in a week than I know about the United States.”
The student ambassadors visited many of the country’s historical landmarks, including a tour of Port of Spain, the nation’s capital city.