MALt Services Community

Over Midterm recess, two groups of students embarked on short weekend trips to Port Henry, New York, and the Merck Forest & Farmland Center in Rupert, Vt. Both outings were part of the College’s student-led initiative known as Middlebury Alternative Break Trips, which is endearingly referred to by many students as MAlt. This year’s October Break mini-excursions marked the 6th consecutive year in which the trips have been offered to students during the fall term.

The primary objective of MAlt is to praovide students with an opportunity to engage in community service in the local New England region. MAlt advisor and alumna Ashley Calkins ’06 believes that what distinguishes the trips from other fall break activities is how they serve as “ways for students to engage their peers in a community-based issue they are passionate about.”

Casey Wanna ’16 and Casey Watters ’15 shared their passion for helping individuals suffering from developmental disabilities by planning a trip to the Mountain Lake Services facility in Port Henry, NY.

Founded in 1967, Mountain Lake Services is “one of only five programs in the nation that take recently institutionalized [men] with a mean IQ of 65 and provides them with the shelter and therapy they need to live again,” Wanna said. Besides providing the men with basic necessities, the Mountain Lakes Services helps these men “discover new passions such as artwork and outdoor recreation” to provide individuals with “lives they had never experienced” before, according to Wanna.

On the trip, students were fully integrated in the everyday lives of the men, with activities including hiking, dining, visiting the facilities workshop and recreation center and playing video games.

“Although we came in believing that these individuals were remarkably different from us, I think we [were] all stunned by how similar they were to us,” said Wanna. “They had boyfriends and girlfriends, wanted to talk about families and school, had hobbies and passions just as we did.”

Adam Lang ’14 led the trip to the Merck Forest & Farmland center in upstate Vermont. The Merck center strives to educate the public about sustainable forest and farmland management. Approximately a one-hour drive from campus, the trip was a perfect way to get to know other Middlebury College students in a close-knit setting while simultaneously engaging in innovative community service, said Sophie Vaughan ’17, who participated in the trip.

At Merck, group members built a trail surrounding an education park in an effort to make the center more easily accessible to the public. The cabin at Merck is open during the winter for volunteers in exchange for free access to breathtaking cross-country ski trails. Chores such as taking care of bunnies, herding sheep and stacking wood were part of a typical day’s routine at Merck.

“Although many of the tasks may seem mundane on first impression, participating in tough manual labor was rewarding because it is not something that can be expected in the traditional classroom setting,” said Vaughan.

In addition to engaging in environmental sustainability, the Merck group had the rare opportunity of experiencing quintessential Vermont country life. Students stayed together in a rustic cabin, which was once a former sap house. Equipped with only a wood-burning stove and no electricity, the cabin was free from the distractions of modern technology.

At a modest cost of $30 dollars for food and accommodation, MAlt is a college subsidized and sponsored activity that gives students the rare opportunity to form close bonds with one another as they learn about and serve the surrounding community.

But perhaps the most definitive quality of MAlt is how students return to campus reenergized and ready to share their experiences with their peers.

“What makes MAlt different from other organizations on campus is the emphasis on learning through service, reflecting on experiences, and considering how all of this can have an impact on Middlebury campus,” said Wanna.