When Monique Lavoie, a Howard University student, was asked by her site coordinator if she had any preference for where she went during the university’s alternative spring break, she left things open-ended.
“I said send me anywhere you want,” said Lavoie, a junior at Howard majoring in biology with a double minor in chemistry and Spanish. “My heart is open and wherever God wants me to be, that’s where I’ll be. When I got Flint, I was actually very excited because my roommate had gone to Flint for alternative spring break her freshman year. She started telling me about the community here, and how strong and committed the people are here, so I was excited as soon as I got the placement.”
Lavoie was among 88 students in Flint last week through the Howard University Alternative Spring Break (HUASB) program, in partnership with the Flint Center for Educational Excellence. Howard students have been traveling from Washington D.C. to Flint for their spring break since 2015, engaging in a wide range of community projects with local schools and nonprofit and grassroots organizations.
The service partnership began shortly after the Flint water crisis began. Mohammed Aboutawila, a former community school director, began the program and it is currently coordinated by Jason Rogers, the community school director at Flint Southwestern and the Alternative Learning Academy (ALA).
Students in town last week filled a variety of roles in school buildings throughout the city, including: Southwestern and ALA, Doyle-Ryder Educational Center, Brownell STEM Academy, Holmes STEM Middle School Academy, Durant-Tuuri-Mott/Educare, International Academy of Flint, and Dye Elementary in Carman-Ainsworth. Projects included painting and beautification, assisting classroom teachers with activities and lessons, providing one-on-one mentoring to students, and more.
“It’s rewarding having them here,” Rogers said. “And we hope that they can kind of recapture some moments from their own time in school. They have been very engaged with students and mentoring them. We’re grateful for them being here and grateful for them really immersing themselves in the fabric of our schools.”
The week culminated with a large pep assembly at Flint Southwestern. The Howard students enthusiastically greeted high school students as they entered the gym. They answered questions students had about things like applying for scholarships, getting into college, and made it clear that it was an attainable goal no matter what income level students were coming from. They also got to have some fun with the students – the assembly included games and something all students can get behind, the chance to pie a few of their teachers who were good sports about it in the face.
“The participants really love working with the students in terms of college prep and showing them what their life could look like,” Lavoie said. “Not everyone from Howard comes from the background where your family has money. A lot of us are first generation, or first time to even graduate high school. So we’ve been in some of those same positions that these students might face. We just try showing them that there are ways to go to college, there are scholarships, and things that you could do to help set yourself up to come to a place like Howard University and be your best self.”
Rogers said that the reaction to the Howard students differs in classrooms based on grade levels, but overall their presence here provides hope to Flint’s students.
“I think that in the K-6 setting, it’s more of an awe inspiring thing,” Rogers said. “They see these new faces who are welcoming them and teaching them things. I think that it helps kind of create the framework for our elementary students to have something to plan for or to envision for life after high school some day. With middle schools and high schoolers, it gives them something to look up to, to aspire toward that is not that far outta reach and not that far down the line for them. The Howard students are showing that they believe in the students and they believe in our schools by continually coming here and also investing in us with their sweat equity, with their knowledge equity, and just with their time. I think that our students really appreciate the sacrifice and uniqueness of this program because when you’re in college, the last thing you want to do is service on spring break, but these students have taken the time to do this and we really appreciate them being here every year.”
Hearing encouraging messages and ways students can set themselves up for success beyond high school from people close to their own age helps make some of those messages resonate more.
“I would like to think that it shows that there’s life beyond Southwestern,” Rogers said. “There’s a roadmap to getting to college and beyond college, and these young people (from Howard) look like you. They have shared struggles, shared victories, so they’re showing you what’s attainable. I think that message is a lot more impactful from somebody that’s not that much older than them. I can say it until the cows come home, but hey, I’m an old fuddy duddy. But somebody that just graduated two or three years ago, it probably resonates a lot more from them.”
Their work in the community wasn’t just limited to the schools. In the evenings, Howard students worked with several local organizations, including the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, Carriage Town Ministries, Black Lives Matter Flint, the Boys and Girls Club, the Flint Development Center, and the Flint River Watershed Coalition.
DeWaun Robinson, president of Black Lives Matter Flint, took a group of students into Flint neighborhoods, explained some of the history and significance of places like Civic Park, showed new developments and businesses downtown, met and talked with some returning citizens, and connected them with the Urban Renaissance Center. At the URC, the students even had a chance to use the recording studio and put together a song about their time in Flint.
“It’s been amazing having them here,” Robinson said. “The first thing that we did with them was took them on a tour around four quadrants of the city to be able to kinda see the different sides and see what was taking place in the environment, from the eastside to the southside to the northside to the westside. They got an understanding of what Flint was like in its heyday, some of the blight and the disenfranchisement now, but also some of the new developments and resurgence. It was an eye-opening experience for them.”
Robinson said that he introduced the students to community pillars like Charles Winfrey, a County Commissioner and executive director of the New McCree Theatre, Pastor Freelon Threlkeld of Faith Baptist Temple, and Pastor Robert McCathern of Joy Tabernacle and the Urban Renaissance Center. Those experiences left a lasting impression on the Howard students.
“They (the residents) were very encouraging and thankful for our students really wanting to learn about the community of Flint and the people that live here,” Lavoie said. “We got a chance to meet so many people. One of the ladies, her family has lived here since the 1830s. That was really important for the students because it really showed the commitment that the people have here to their community and how much they love the city. That’s really the big takeaway that we’ve all been learning about from the elders here in Flint.”
Robinson said that, along with the work students did in the community, their simple presence and care they showed here were deeply appreciated everywhere they went.
“For them to come here on their spring break, I think that really spoke volumes to folks in the city,” Robinson said. “I appreciate the alternative spring break program, and the funders who make those things happen. For students to get out of their comfort zone, go to different communities and do the work, that’s big. I just want to continue to be supportive of them and keep moving forward.”
The Howard Alternative Spring Break program has existed since 1994, with thousands of students going to sites nationally each year. Rogers said he’s looking forward to continuing the program in Flint and, hopefully, even expanding it in future years.
“We’re looking to try to expand to every school in the Flint Center for Educational Excellence network,” Rogers said. “Next year, that’s something I’m shooting for. It takes a lot of preparation and legwork to accommodate the students. But I think that a good thing is a lot of the students go back and tell their counterparts, ‘Hey, if you do HUASB and you can pick your site, come to Flint.’ A few of them said that they were really recommended to come to Flint.”
Lavoie is among those students who had a great experience in the city and plans to share that with others.
“It was just a great week and I’m proud of all the students that worked hard,” Lavoie said. “I know there were early mornings and some late nights, but they really stepped out and opened their hearts and this city’s so loving. So it was just a very mutually amazing space to be in. We love it here. It’s a beautiful city.”
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