"Does anyone have any Z-loves?" junior Laura Kim asks, part-laughing with the 11 members of her Alternative Spring Break group, Brick House.
Kim created "Z-loves" as a way to reward site members for good deeds done for each other. After two months of weekly meetings, the group of once-strangers, ranging from freshmen to seniors, has their own language.
The group will depart Vanderbilt at 6 a.m. Saturday for a 12-hour drive to Zellwood, Fla., to participate in a weeklong service project which includes repairing an old trailer.
Brick House is one of 35 ASB groups that will participate in service projects across North America this spring break.
Now in its 20th year, ASB has expanded become the largest student organization on campus, with approximately 400 participants this year.
ASB Co-President Becca Carson said ASB is unique from other service organizations on campus because it emphasizes reflection and education in addition to service.
"There is a lot of emphasis put on how you can affect the issue, not necessarily during the week, but after as well," she said.
Carson said another distinctive aspect of ASB is that it brings students from different parts of campus together.
The site-selection process begins each April, 11 months in advance. Site leaders were chosen in October, and the individual groups started to meet weekly in January.
In order to participate in ASB, students must go through an application and interview process and sign a contract promising not to use drugs or alcohol during the week of spring break. The program has become so popular that it must put many applicants on a waiting list.
As the final trip meeting winds down, the Brick House participants talk about their anticipations for the week.
"I think part of it is having a random experience in that you don't know what you're going to get out of it," said junior Kristen Hoevel. "I think all of us go in thinking we're going to get something great out of it, but don't know what it is."
To listen to members of ASB group Brick House explain their site and talk about their upcoming trip click here.
