Parents Program Radio Show – February 16, 2016

This month’s Parents Program Radio Show features chats with both Katherine Kennedy and Pedro Falci of the Howard Thurman Center and Zach Hobbs of the Community Service Center. We hope you will join us on Tuesday, February 16 at 3pm on UStream.

You can also listen to the episode’s segments or download them via SoundCloud:

A live transcript of the Parent Radio Show is available below:

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This text is being provided in a realtime format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) or captioning are provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.
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Introduction

>> Good afternoon, folks, and welcome in to the Boston University Parents Program radio broadcast, February 2016 edition. We’re broadcasting live from the Boston University campus on the banks of the Charles River. My name is Daryl Deluca, and I’m joined by my colleague.
>> CHRISTY LORING: I’m Christy Loring. And it is a dreary day on campus, but it’s warm. It feels like an April day.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Do you believe this weather we’ve had?
>> CHRISTY LORING: It’s a welcome change, despite the rain.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Folks around the country have been keeping a watchful eye on New England weather, probably, because your sons and daughters attend Boston University. And we had record‑breaking lows over the weekend, Saturday and Sunday. I got up on Saturday or Sunday morning, it was ‑9 with a wind chill factor of something like ‑30°.
>> CHRISTY LORING: It was one of those weekends where you stepped outside of the house and felt the cold in your lungs. It really caused you physical pain, it was so, so cold.
>> DARYL DELUCA: And the contrast now, today, it has reached 55. A mere three days later. And we’re probably going to break another record today a few day’s after Valentine’s Day in Boston. We are thrilled you can join us. It’s warm and toasty inside. Do you want to say who’s going to be on our broadcast today, our guests?
>> CHRISTY LORING: Katherine Kennedy, the Director of the Howard Thurman Center, and Pedro Falci. I feel as though with the radio show, we’ve often done the nuts and bolts, if you will, dining services, housing, residents’ life, things you really need to know to get settled, to be comfortable, to live on campus. But we were missing an important piece, and to me that is the growth of one’s person ‑‑ individual growth, perhaps even spiritual growth, growth of understanding that you are part of a community and that we all live together, and we should be well‑aware of one another’s needs, and really have a strong sense of our humanity.
>> DARYL DELUCA: And the Howard Thurman Center, oftentimes students refer to it as the living room of our campus. And it’s a great, comfortable place to go, to hang out, to get some guidance, support, and to get a hug when you need it, so to speak. So we’ll be hearing from our colleagues, both Katherine Kennedy as well as Pedro Falci, our Assistant Director.
>> CHRISTY LORING: And then after that, we will be joined by Zachary Hobbs. And I think this is similar. Zach is the director of the Community Service Center, but he’s going to talk to us about Alternative Service Breaks. And that, too, is an opportunity for some personal growth as students look to join one of 37 trips for Alternative Service Breaks. They’re throughout the country, also, Puerto Rico to do community service work, humanitarian work.
And I think that they learn quite a bit about our country. They make wonderful friendships, and they learn a great deal about themselves.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Absolutely.
>> CHRISTY LORING: I liken it almost to a study abroad, but much‑abbreviated because it’s spring break. Because we live in New England, it’s not surprising that spring break is going to be just around the corner, and it won’t necessarily feel like spring, although it does today. But it will start on March 5th.
>> DARYL DELUCA: It will indeed. We will take a short commercial break right now, and we’ll be back with our first guest. So stay tuned, and we’ll be right back.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Thank you.

Howard Thurman Center Segment
>> DARYL DELUCA: So welcome back, again, broadcasting live from Boston University’s Charles River campus, on the banks of the kind of‑melting Charles River today. I’m Daryl Deluca, one of the Assistant Deans of Students, and I’m joined by Christy Loring.
>> CHRISTY LORING: I would liken it to slush, Daryl. It is a slushy boot day, for sure. As we mentioned before we took our short break, we have our colleagues Katherine Kennedy, the Director of the Howard Thurman Center, along with Pedro Falci, the Associate Director of the Howard Thurman Center. So we’re going to talk about this very special place on campus, which we want your students to know about, to know that it exists and that it’s a wonderful place at the university both as a resource, but also, I liken it to, you know, as Daryl said before, a living room, or a great place to get a hug.
It’s a very warm place. So, without further ado, I would love to begin just for parents who don’t know, who might be saying what is the Howard Thurman Center, explain what the Howard Thurman Center is.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Thank you for asking. The Howard Thurman Center is Boston University’s student center. And we are commissioned with building unity and community across our campus.
>> CHRISTY LORING: And where would one find the HTC?
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: In the lower level of the student union building. Some people are concerned that we’re in the lower level, but we don’t mind because we face Fox Fountain, which is facing the Charles River. We have a beautiful view. And three sides of our center are glass walls, so we’re pretty excited about where we are.
>> CHRISTY LORING: So it is. It’s a wonderful location. Having spent two years in the union, though, I can easily say that it’s a difficult building to maneuver. So it’s, you know, not easy, necessarily, to find the Dean of Students’ Office on the third floor, or the Howard Thurman Center. Tell us, is it open to everyone on campus?
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: It is absolutely open to every student and every faculty and staff member, but we really dedicate our work to students, who are first introduced to us during summer orientation. And while some of them find their way to us immediately, others, you know, if may take a little while for them to learn about us and decide that we’re that place that can be their home away from home.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Katherine, I have certainly read the mission statement of the Howard Thurman Center online on the website, but I think it is really something important. And if I may read part of it, and then you talk about it?
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Absolutely.
>> CHRISTY LORING: So the mission of the Howard Thurman Center is to discover shared humanity through programs and events designed to expand intellectual, social, and spiritual growth, and foster the development of meaningful friendships, which I think is a wonderful guide for the center, but also for all of us, particularly, working here at the University.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Yes. And we like to think of it sometimes in a more simplistic way. That’s our formal mission statement, but we tell our students that we continue the work of Dr. Howard Thurman, who spent his life working to break those barriers of divisiveness that separate us as people based on issues of race, culture, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual identity.
And so we really focus on his belief in the unity of all people. And we felt that could be achieved through the search for common ground.
>> DARYL DELUCA: While we’re talking about Dr. Howard Thurman, this is a great segue into ‑‑ give us a brief two‑minute overview of who he was. When was he at Boston University?
>> PEDRO FALCI: Sure. So, Howard Thurman was a massive thinker, a man of religion, scholar, professor, in the 20th century. He was born in Daytona Beach in 1899, is that correct?
>> Mmhmm.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Ironically, your parents live not too far from there.
>> PEDRO FALCI: I am a Floridian, I know Daytona well. He went to Moore House college, and then made his way to BU after founding the first interfaith, interracial church called the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. Then in 1953, he came to BU. He was invited to be our Dean of Marsh chapel. And he really came to BU at a time when a lot of the country was still dealing with segregation. This is a black man coming to a predominantly white university, that was historic in itself.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Give us those dates again.
>> PEDRO FALCI: 1953 he arrives, and he stays until 1965.
>> DARYL DELUCA: An African‑American man in a predominantly white institution in the ’50s.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Absolutely. That was significant because people felt that Boston University took a bold step in inviting him here, because that made him the first black Dean as a pro‑documently white university in the nation. He had been a professor at Morehouse, and the first Dean in Washington, D.C., but he felt that if he was really going to prove the unity of all people could be achieved through the search for common ground, he would need to step outside of his comfort zone and come to a predominantly white university.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Prior to him coming, those were historically black colleges. So it was not only significant, but really historic in our nation’s history as to this man coming to Boston University, which was predominantly white in the 1950s.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: We are not a religious center, even though he was a man of religion. What made him special and controversy, enon Boston University’s campus, he, as dean of the chapel, knew that our students, our faculty and staff, represented many religions of the world, races, cultures, he wanted everybody to feel they were welcome in the chapel. One of the things he did was remove the Christian cross, even though he did not lose his Christianity. But he wanted everyone to feel welcome and comfortable, and know that it was a house of worship that all were welcome in.
And so our work continues that helping students not only discover who they are through the search for common ground ‑‑ because if you know, I’d like to tell you what the search means. He said it was two‑fold. The first step is inward, personal self‑exploration. He would say, when you can go down deep inside yourself, really know who you are, and are secure in who you are, then you can find yourself in every other human being.
And the second step in the journey is one of building community. And that’s what we work to do every day here at Boston University through the Thurman Center.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Thank you, Katherine. I was going to ask how some of his meditations relate to our current students. And I think that’s well‑said.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Thank you. I think there’s one other ‑‑ there are who that we use all the time with our students. And, you know, especially they hear it when they come for orientation. And the one that seems to resonate the most with our students and draws them to us is that quote of his that says, “don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
And the other quote we use all the time in our work as a foundation for developing our programs is, “the meaningful and creative shared experiences” quote. He believed that meaningful and creative shared experience between people can be more compelling than all the faiths, fears, ideologies, and prejudices that divide us. If these experiences can be multiplied and sustained over a sufficient period of time, then any barrier that separates one person from another can be undermined and eliminated.
>> DARYL DELUCA: I think I’ve seen some of those wonderful Dr. Thurman quotes on the back of some T‑shirts.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Absolutely.
>> DARYL DELUCA: On campus. They keep the theme, they keep the fabric of the things that are alive all over campus. You mentioned orientation. And is really the Howard Thurman Center oftentimes, students’ first exposure to the Thurman Center, is that during summer orientation?
>> PEDRO FALCI: Absolutely. We always facilitate the Common Ground Program. Students are welcome to go on this Boston city excursion. Our facilitator likes to say it’s the Amazing Race meets the Free Dom Trail and Da Vinci Code. It’s going to the city of Boston. We present the incoming students, freshman and transfer students. On Thursday, we have hosted them for ice cream in the center, played board games, all sorts of activities. We’re very visible and present.
>> DARYL DELUCA: When you say you present to students, what is it that you’re trying to convey to them, the incoming students?
>> PEDRO FALCI: When I present to students, I’m really trying to convey that they can get so much from the center. It’s unique to being a BU student. There is no Howard Thurman Center at other institutions. You really have a chance to dive deep into this place, and this philosophy. We really want you to get to know other students. Like you said, Christy, form those meaningful relationships.
And it’s a place where you can really dive into that mission of college, which is of discovering yourself, of self‑discovery. The Thurman Center contributes purposefully to that part of exploring who you are, what you believe, and relating how you see the world to the way your peers also see the world.
>> DARYL DELUCA: I tell people all the time that we are very fortunate. We are very blessed, and we are very grateful that the Howard Thurman Center sits alive and well at Boston University. But when you just indicated that there’s no other Howard Thurman Center around the campuses, you know I talk about, literally and figuratively speaking, you’re talking about the philosophy of all people are welcome in the shared experience. Can you elaborate more on that? Other universities around the nation aren’t set up like the Thurman Center. They are ‑‑ I hate to use the word, but, they are segregated.
There are centers for African‑American students, there are centers for Hispanic and Latino students, and Boston University doesn’t take that approach.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Woe don’t. We try to have our students understand that we are all human beings in this world, and that the greatest thing that we can do is to share our own life experiences, our own stories as Dean elmor likes to stay, and to step outside your comfort zone. We encourage students to ask difficult questions that may relate to someone’s race, ethnicity, or religion. They know they’re not going to be persecuted for it.
We also tell you that you don’t have to have an appointment. You can just come in. You don’t have to announce you’re a little shy or don’t know anybody. We have student staff that will welcome you. There are students sitting around. If they don’t recognize you, they’ll say hello. If they’re too busy in a book, our student staff will introduce you, or even the professional staff will do that. If Pedro or I see someone we don’t know, or even today, for example, I walked into the Center after a meeting.
I saw a young lady. I didn’t remember her name. I walked by her. Then I came back because I thought, Katherine, you don’t know her name. I said, I’m going to embarrass myself and apologize. I know I’ve seen you, I don’t remember your name, please share it with me. She was delighted to do so. That’s the kind of atmosphere we try to have. We don’t have to be someone super special. You don’t have to have a title. You don’t have to be of some particular socioeconomic background or racial background. Every human being on this campus is welcome.
>> DARYL DELUCA: I’ve often heard you say that everybody has a culture.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Everyone has a culture. We often hear that our white students think this is not a place for them. When we start in America, when you talk about culture, you’re usually talking about race or ethnicity. But, every human being has a culture. If you’re white and Irish, you have a culture. We all want to know what that is and share with it.
>> DARYL DELUCA: My culture is Italian.
(Laughter)
>> DARYL DELUCA: I like to share, too.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Absolutely.
>> DARYL DELUCA: So we are about to go into our first segment break, and we’ll show a brief commercial. But we’ll be back and continue this conversation with the great folks from the Howard Thurman Center for common ground, Katherine Kennedy and Pedro Falci. And we will be right back. Welcome back, again, to the Boston University Parents Program radio broadcast, broadcasting live from the BU Charles river campus on the banks of the Charles on a gloomy, mid‑February winter day. We’re joining again by Christy Loring, as well as Katherine Kennedy and Pedro Falci.
We’re just going to continue our conversation. Pedro, talk to us a little bit about the kinds of programs that take place and go on in the Thurman Center.
>> PEDRO FALCI: Sure. The programs are designed with two things in mind. One, have it be a chance for students who normally don’t interact. It could be all class years across all ten schools and colleges for undergrads to really come together and get to know each other and add a layer to their social circle at BU. These programs are designed for them to really dive into contemporary topics and learn about what’s happening in the world, and relate that back to what they’re learning in the classroom.
So we have a book club that meets every Tuesday night. About 18 students signed up. We always have a waiting list. It’s a very popular program. We read three books, typically fiction, but we’ve read graphic novels, memoirs. And these are books that are important on a pop culture level, that always have themes that provoke conversation, whether it’s about bullying, whether it’s about themes of justice, whether it’s about race.
So, every week we have a nice, chewy conversation about something happening in society through the literature. So that’s one program. My favorite program happens every Friday. It’s our coffee and conversation program. This is our big, kind of, town hall forum‑style program where every week we talk about either something that’s happening in the news ‑‑
>> DARYL DELUCA: Current events.
>> PEDRO FALCI: It can be that. Or it can be something that’s just fun and quirky, and accessible to every student. So I know historically around Valentine’s Day, we’ve talked about love. But we’ve also talked about things that are in the news like concussions in football. We’ve talked about college admissions. We’ve talked about what was happening at the University of Missouri. So, again, we’ve talked about the Presidential election. That got a lot of people in the room.
It depends what’s happening in the world, but making sure students can participate without having all the facts, and without being experts in any given topic. We just want you to share your opinion.
>> DARYL DELUCA: So you touch upon those meaty subjects that most people try to avoid like the plague.
>> PEDRO FALCI: Most definitely.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Race, religion, GLBT, transgender students, all that good stuff. How has that worked out?
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: It’s wonderful because what it does is provides an opportunity for those students who want to find a voice to have an opportunity to find their voice. For those who, in a big forum like that, feel not as secure about opening up yet, they can come every week and never say a word and just take it all in. But at some point, they reach a place of comfort and safety where they then find their voice. And so we’re excited about that. And that’s really what it’s meant to do.
All of our programs, you know, challenge their intellect. But we are very careful about making it not seem like they are still in the classroom. Our book club is intentionally small. Everything doesn’t have to be large. It’s intimate so that you’re coming together with the same people every week. So even there you have to find your voice. You have to get to a place where you’re comfortable sharing your thoughts about something that you’re reading, because we all interpret things differently.
But in addition to that, we’re trying to help them build a library. We buy the books and give them to them, and ask them to keep them as part of their personal library. If they don’t want to do that, then they can give them back to us. We just don’t want to see them sold in those bus trucks down on commonwealth avenue at the end of the academic year. But we have small, intimate programs. And then we have bigger ones. And so I think that’s what we think is important.
I think the other piece that’s important about the Thurman Center is everything about us is not about being a program. We are a space where we have comfortable furniture, where students can come in, in between class, sit down and relax. If they don’t want to talk to anyone, they don’t have to. They can take a nap. They can sit and prepare themselves mentally and physically for their next class. They can also come in and talk to us.
And that’s why our space is designed ‑‑ our walls are made of glass in the interior offices. And so we want our space to say, we’re open and welcoming, and you don’t have to have an appointment to come see us. If we are sitting there, you can walk in and say, do you have a minute, Ms. Kennedy, or Pedro, and we are happy to talk to them. We also are about leadership development and training. And so Pedro runs a beautiful program that we call the HTC, Howard Thurman Center student ambassadors program, and another one called culture consul. Talk a little bit about that.
>> PEDRO FALCI: The ambassador program has been around for many years. Can you remind me what the original name was?
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: The associates in the search for common ground.
>> PEDRO FALCI: We shortened the name. This program invites students from all class years, freshmen to seniors. These are students who are interested in the Thurman philosophy of common ground. They are active in the center and on campus. They typically hold leadership positions across all areas of campus. But really, what they’re after is, sort of, creating this really authentic and meaningful relationship with each other and finding how to then spread that to the larger BU community.
So we spend a lot of time together doing fun things, social things, but also having more workshop retreat‑style activities. And sometimes we put the onus on them to lead things in the center, a chance for them to practice their public speaking, to really engage with their peers, to have a chance to even sometimes create a program and have something be, you know, from their own heart. And we can then give them the tools and the resources to put their vision into actual practice.
So it’s really a chance for them to have something that is, you know, maybe they thought was unattainable and just a cool idea actually be something feasible that happens. And then for the benefit of students across campus, which is really cool.
The culture council is where we invite student leaders from all various student groups on campus. So these are the official student groups and organizations. And we meet twice a month to basically work on collaborating on projects, having these groups actually spend time together or know each other, so that instead of creating all these competing programs, why don’t y’all work together to put on something great, pool your resources and do something that will reach more people at BU.
That’s been a fun initiative, but that’s off to a great start. We have 40 or so student groups who meet weekly.
>> CHRISTY LORING: You had a retreat this weekend.
>> PEDRO FALCI: We did. We met at the Thurman Center start morning, did various activities, ice‑breakers. It got deep, that’s what we do. The Dean had us for lunch as his house, we had a blast. One of the best days I’ve had at work for a long time.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Pedro, I wanted to ask you, you’ve taken on the role of leading Coffee and Conversation. I have been to a couple of those dialogues. And I know that some of them can be, as you said, really meaty or difficult, challenging. So, tell us about leading some of those conversations. And then, the other side of that is, do the students really participate? Are they voicing their opinions? I think this is so important to be talking at this level during college.
So, tell us about that coffee and conversation experience.
>> PEDRO FALCI: If I may add, I’m someone who is a BU alum and used to go to this program when Dean Elmore facilitated it. It’s a huge honor. It means a lot to me that I can do it. I’m glad I had four years under my belt to witness the Dean doing it, it definitely helped. The key is creating a culture where students know you can participate and share your opinions, and nobody’s going to bite your head off or be aggressive.
I lay that out, and students recognize that when they come to the center. So just setting the tone is huge. And I always ask students, before they speak, before whatever point they want to get across, tell us your name and who you are. Adding that level of personalness, if I can use that weird word, really creates a climate where students are less interested in just, kind of, spouting off their idea, and not listening, but really care to have an exchange of ideas and are curious to see how what their peers has to say might contribute to the way they see the world.
So I think setting that tone is important. Students absolutely their their opinions. Sometimes there’s so many hands in the air, we just go in a circle, because I can’t get to everybody in time. I’ve noticed students are incredibly thoughtful. And they do care to listen. And what I like to do sometimes, if I feel a student has said something and if I get the sense that what they said was being misinterpreted or misunderstood, I will go back and say, do you want to rephrase what you said, do you want to say it a different way?
Sometimes things don’t come out the way we want the first time. You get a second chance, you get to elaborate and have a second try at getting your idea across. So we don’t shy away from these tough topics, but I think it’s so important as we ‑‑ you know, for students as they’re getting ready to go into the world, have some practice talking about some difficult stuff.
>> DARYL DELUCA: I love what you said earlier about, you know, for many students, coming to Coffee and Conversation, to the Thurman Center, adds a layer to their social circle.
>> PEDRO FALCI: Absolutely.
>> DARYL DELUCA: They meet students they may not necessarily know in class, or in their student residences. But I think the climate, if you will, that you have continued, and Dean Elmore created, of being a nonjudgmental climate and opportunity for students to find their voice, if you will, provides a unique and special opportunity for undergraduate students.
>> PEDRO FALCI: Absolutely. And Dean Elmore used to do this, and I do it, challenge students to make an argument that’s not theirs. Try to make the case of someone who thinks differently. Having a chance to see things from so many perspectives is hugely important. You know Dean Elmore, he loves to play devil’s advocate.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Absolutely. We only have a few minutes left, but we hear talkings and preachings about the University wants to expand the Howard Thurman Center. Can you say a word or two about that, and what’s going on?
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: We’re really excited. Just before the holidays, the President announced that because of the work that he’s seen we’ve been doing, he thinks we need to expand to a larger space with more staff, with more programming. And he wants us to be more integrated into the overall academic piece of the institution as well. And so we’re excited about that. We haven’t determined a location yet, but we are holding listening sessions so that all the faculty, staff, and students of the university can come and share their thoughts, as well as he’s created a committee that is working on a proposal to present to him in early March.
>> DARYL DELUCA: With more significant details.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Absolutely.
>> DARYL DELUCA: That’s fantastic. Absolutely. With about a minute left, tell us how we reach you, the website, phone address, email addresses.
>> PEDRO FALCI: Easy. You’ll see Katherine’s contact information, you’ll see mine, you can email us directly, our personal lines are on there. And if you are interested in contributing to this HTC vision committee, you can email the Dean of Students. You would know that email address. There we go. Feel free to share your thoughts that way.
>> DARYL DELUCA: You have a listening session coming up?
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Tomorrow evening, 5:00 in the Howard Thurman Center. Parents are welcome to join us if they’re physically in the geographic area, or again, they can email or send a letter to the Dean’s Office.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Great. Any input, suggestions, recommendations, thoughts about the expansion to the Howard Thurman Center, can be directed to me, email address, DOS for Dean of students. We are thrilled that you could take the time to join us today.
>> KATHERINE KENNEDY: Thank you for having us.
>> DARYL DELUCA: You are very welcome. And we will be right back after a short commercial break with our third and final guest of the day. Broadcasting live from the Boston University Charles River campus.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Thank you both.

Community Service Center – Alternative Service Breaks Segment
>> DARYL DELUCA: Welcome back again to the February edition of the Boston University Parents Program radio show, again, joined by my colleague ‑‑
>> CHRISTY LORING: Christy Loring, and now joined by Zachary Hobbs, the director of the Community Service Center. And believe it or not, spring break it just around the corner.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Here it comes.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Ready or not. 2 1/2 weeks out, and we’re going to have spring break. It feels like we just got back from our intersession break, doesn’t it?
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: It’s amazing.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Absolutely.
>> DARYL DELUCA: So, all things alternative spring break over our spring break, Zachary Hobbs. Talk to us a little bit about what is in store for spring break, and our alternative spring break programs.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Sure, so, Alternative Service Breaks, maybe it’s spring, we have winter and spring. I’m programming myself, a former undergrad myself. The change of name is more for my own getting it right. But it’s coming up fast, March 5th to the 13th, which as the Dean said, is just 2 1/2 weeks away. We’ll have 37 groups of students who have decided rather than go home or on a traditional spring break, our rather stay here in Boston in their residence halls, which they’re welcome to do, they’re going to head out to one of our destinations for service and reflection.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Tell us some of the places they’re going to and the volunteer opportunities that are available.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Absolutely. We have trips from Puerto Rico, California, Maine. We have a handful of ones that we’re looking for a few folks to join up on. We have a group going to Atlanta, Georgia to do work with populations of folks experiencing homelessness. We have groups heading to Baltimore and Philadelphia working with groups of elderly folks hanging out, socializing, cooking, sharing stories.
We’ll have groups in Indiana and Springfield, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee, doing housing projects and construction projects, Omaha Nebraska, doing the same. Working with students on urban agriculture in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. West Virginia doing housing work, as well. Really unique locations that a lot of our students might otherwise not get a chance to visit and experience fully in other ways.
>> CHRISTY LORING: I imagine so.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Mmhmm.
>> DARYL DELUCA: So, you named 37 groups.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Yes.
>> DARYL DELUCA: How many states and territories do we touch?
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Good grief, do we touch?
>> DARYL DELUCA: I didn’t want to stumble you, but in terms of destinations. Do we go to seven states, or 17 states?
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: We are in, to my knowledge, I believe we’re in 21 states for those. 20 states and Puerto Rico, for those experiences. And we’ll have students driving through every state east of the Mississippi, and flying to several states beyond.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Okay. I’m glad to know they’re not driving to all of them.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: No. We’ll send them in a car as far as Omaha, Nebraska ‑‑
>> DARYL DELUCA: This is a hike.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: It’s 27 hours. We’re not going to make them drive to Salt Lake City or Puerto Rico. That would be challenging.
>> DARYL DELUCA: For parents that are thinking about this, talk to us a little bit about the training that goes involved with driving, as well as the staff members on each alternative service break program.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Sure. We started working on this experience last May. So it’s a long process where I bring on two undergraduate student leaders, really extraordinary student leaders to support me. Really, I’m supporting them in putting this ‑‑ for sure ‑‑ this program together. And then we bring on a team, a herd of over 70 coordinators. So each trip will have two undergraduate student coordinators who have been training every week on facilitating education and reflection, to intervening in challenges situations, to leading some of those complex conversations like my colleagues were just discussing.
We also bring on a faculty member or an advanced graduate student who will join each trip. They’ll act as full participants and dive into the experience, but they’ll also lend that little bit of grown‑up, experienced crisis intervention, wisdom, thoughtfulness, ability to respond quickly when needed. So it’s just adding a little bit of an extra layer of support, so I have a little mole on the inside so I can find out what’s going on.
>> CHRISTY LORING: A relief.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Safety is number one. As much as I’d like ‑‑ I always want to say education, reflection is number one. At the end of the day, getting groups of students to these destinations and back in one piece is the number one priority. Both physically, emotionally, across the board.
>> CHRISTY LORING: So, Zach, why would you recommend to a student that they should go on an alternative service break?
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Why should a student go on an alternative service break? The story I always tell is I, like my colleague Pedro, am an alum of Boston University. I was not a student that came to Boston University super interested in service and volunteerism, and social justice work.
>> CHRISTY LORING: That surprises me.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: I know, I’m the Director of the Community Service Center. I’ve made my life’s work this. A dear friend of mine dragged me on an alternative service break trip in 2005.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Goodness.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: To Orlando, Florida. We got in a van and drove along. And still several of my closest friends in the world ‑‑ I’ve been to weddings from that trip. I have lived with members of that group as roommates in graduate school. And I’ve made my life out of this. So I’m not expecting that every one of the 350 students who goes this year will make their life out of service in higher education. But it’s transformative. And every student who goes gets something really interesting out of it.
Maybe it’s a love for the organization that they’ve worked with. Maybe it’s a love for the social justice issue, whether it’s affordable housing, or hunger and food justice, or education. Maybe it’s just a love of critical reflection and having great conversations with people. Maybe it’s even a love of the place that they go. I know we’ve had folks who have physically, after graduation, moved to cities where they’ve spent ‑‑ where they’ve gone to ASB. I know we used to be a group that went to Texas, and we had a number of students who went and worked for that organization.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Goodness.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: In summer roles, internship opportunities come up. Maybe it’s a connection to people. Maybe it’s a connection to a place. And though it’s not formally, you know, a professional experience, there are definitely professional aspects working with nonprofit organizations.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Certainly.
>> DARYL DELUCA: I love hearing those stories like that, because to take a page out of the Howard Thurman Center playbook, our previous guests, you know, meaningful, shared experiences can go so far and can enrich so many people’s lives. And you never neo‑ ‑‑ to use your word, the transformative approach and experiences that students will have.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: That’s it. And people derive a lot from it.
>> CHRISTY LORING: So if there’s a parent listening at home, watching us at home, it sounds like something a student may really be interested in. Is it too late to sign up?
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Not at all. We still have about 30 out of our 300 plus spots to some of those trips I named earlier, Atlanta, Omaha, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and others. So we definitely have space available.
>> CHRISTY LORING: What is the process? How does a student sign up?
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: They can find information at BU.EDU/CSC, in our newsletter, in our social media, anywhere. All of the instructions to register are right in there. Prices range from $325 to $425 for the trips that we have open.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Okay.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: And we do offer scholarships. And we will absolutely still support students who are Pell grant eligible, and demonstrate significant financial need. All of the instructions are right in there.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Okay.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: And they can put in a discount code right there, pay a $200 deposit, and we’ll talk to them about getting some financial support or paying for the rest. And if any student is concerned, you know, it’s two weeks out and they haven’t been saving up for this trip, they can contact any of us directly and we will make it possible for any student who really wants to have this experience to go.
>> CHRISTY LORING: That’s wonderful. Thank you, Zach.
>> DARYL DELUCA: So less than really 10% availability still exists.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: That’s it.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Can you explain why there is a difference between prices? A range of 325 to 425?
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Absolutely. Our $325 trips that are open currently are Baltimore and Philadelphia. They will be taking Greyhound buses. It reduces the cost a little bit. Transportation cost is the big one. Some trips will be 375 and some are 425, also just for driving distance, because they will be getting into vans and driving. And then our flying trips are a bit more ‑‑ we’re fortunate to have full teams on those, so that’s the little difference between prices.
>> DARYL DELUCA: How do alums tuning in, or Boston University parents need to contribute or participate in this where they say, “I would really like to be able to help out a group in my local area?”
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Sure. There are three real ways that we’re looking for support for the Alternative Service Breaks program. One is, there are still groups who are ‑‑ again, we talked about some people driving. We don’t want them driving all night. So for some of those longer trips, we’re looking for parents and alums who are willing to have nine or ten awesome undergraduate students and a chaperone crash in sleeping bags on their floor. That’s an option anywhere between here and our destination.
>> CHRISTY LORING: You don’t need to have nine or ten bags. Just a warm house.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: That’s it. You’ll have the students, they’ll have their sleeping bags under their arms. They’ll unroll them on the floor. They might sing a song or have some chats, but, they’ll be good house guests. Some groups might want to stop into a house for a meal, both on the road and in each of our 37 destinations. Have a group over for dinner, have a group over for breakfast.
And then third, if folks are not on the way, or if they don’t have the space or the venue to provide that, we’re happy to accept general funding to support both our scholarship fund, but also supporting our groups for purchasing meals, or maybe, you know, a $100 gift card to subway will feed a group on the road for a couple stops. So there are lots of different ways. Supplies, camping supplies, first aid, all that good stuff that goes into making the program safe. We’ll take anything and help the groups get on the road and be safe and fed, and supported along the way.
>> CHRISTY LORING: And I would be remiss if I did not give a shoutout to our parent ambassadors and parent leadership council members who have already stepped forward to give gift cards, and some other great ways to contribute, including a mom who’s going to give the group going to New Orleans a tour.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: That’s wonderful.
>> CHRISTY LORING: And pay for that so they have some time to explore their point of destination.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: We genuinely could not do this without the support of families and alums. That aspect of introducing them to your city adds a huge layer. It’s not just about the service. It’s about the experience and meeting awesome people.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Our alternative service ‑‑ the spring breaks that have been going on for many, many years. During the course of our history, parents have really stepped up in meaningful ways by providing both hosting, and dinners in people’s homes. The feedback I get from the students, and the parents, they’re so enriched by hosting ten undergraduate students. the easy way to participate, as Zach pointed out, is a gift card.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Sure.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Where it be to McDonald’s, or a Subway, or a prepaid MasterCard and visa. While it is very, very small, it is so meaningful and goes a long way.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: It’s huge. We run on a tight enough budget that any little bit can really get our students ‑‑ especially our students who really have saved up and are really spending their Christmas money, having this experience really helps them have a fulfilling experience without having any anxieties about funding it.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Which is important.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Absolutely.
>> CHRISTY LORING: And if it’s something you think you are interested in doing, you can contact me at parents@bu.edu,and I will help facilitate that.
>> DARYL DELUCA: We’re grateful this program exists. I don’t know if many other things do simple things like this. They might do it, but not to the degree we do it.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: That’s right. Not quite the same scale.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Tell us how to get ahold of you, how to learn more about the Boston University Community Service Center, a website and email address.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: bu.edu/csc, BUASB.com, aldbreak@bu.edu, it’s easy to find websites, information, or get in touch with Christy. We’re easy to find.
>> DARYL DELUCA: I can never remember anything. I just type in on Google, Boston University Community Service Center.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: At the end of the day, isn’t Google wonderful for that?
>> DARYL DELUCA: It is. Is there anything else you want to talk about, or say about the Alternative Service Breaks in terms of them coming up? Would you say, it’s less than three weeks away and we’re going to have a full house again, going across the country. I like to say, from San Juan to San Francisco.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: That’s it.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Huge depth and breadth of our student visiting each end, the West Coast and the eastern Caribbean in a period of seven or eight days. It’s just absolutely incredible.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: However y’all can be involved, it’ll change your students life, or you could change a group of students’ life.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Those parents who have hosted, I want to give a quick shoutout to Robin in San Francisco, California.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Yes.
>> DARYL DELUCA: You’ve done incredible work, and we are enormously grateful and appreciative of your sponsorship and your support. Robin has two students at Boston University, and we are happy that they are here and enjoying life on the Charles River campus.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: I saw one of the groups from the trip that joined Robin in San Francisco the other day. Still talking about you, so, thank you.
>> CHRISTY LORING: I am not surprised to hear is that.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Zach, are you going on a break, or are you going to be, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain in the command center at Boston University?
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Yes, command center dealing with anything that comes up. Nothing is going to come up, so it’s not a problem. But I will be here catching up on work and hearing all the amazing stories that come back from each of our trips.
>> CHRISTY LORING: Which is a really good point. The students do keep a blog. They’re posting from all of these different locations. It’s a great way to stay in touch with the great work they’re doing.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: The tweeters can follow us the whole trip and see hundreds, thousands of tweets from all over the country.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Give that hash tag again.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: Hash tag BUASB.
>> DARYL DELUCA: That way, you can literally follow students who are enjoying a site in San Juan, to San Francisco, and to follow their progress as they get there and as they go. They do take literally thousands of photographs.
>> ZACHARY HOBBS: It’s a very inspiring, funny, and amusing to watch.
>> DARYL DELUCA: Okay. I think we are about to wrap up today, and we are, again, appreciative and grateful Zach, that you stopped by. This is your second or third visit on our Boston University Parents Program radio broadcast, so ‑‑

(Session concluded at 4:06 p.m. ET)

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