Participants

Chelsea Brown is a junior working towards a duel degree in Dance and Psychology. Chelsea is interested in music, art, psychotherapy, sailing, dancing, and having new adventures. As an environmental-enthusiast since childhood, Chelsea is eager to be involved with local farming that focuses on working with the land in the least intrusive way possible. Chelsea was previously involved in four sustainability organizations at UMD but has not had enough time this semester to be involved so this trip is the perfect fix! 

Caitlin Montgomery is a sophomore at UMD, majoring in Biology.  Ultimately, she hopes to attend dental school. She's in the Science&Global Change Scholars Program, where she has learned a lot about anthropogenic and natural causes on climate change. Caitlin is also a Dialogue Coordinator for Terps4Change, in which she leads discussions about social issues and the importance of service.  Caitlin volunteers at Food&Friends this semester.  Last year, she volunteered at ECO, a sustainable farm. 

Caitlin is super excited to join her first AB trip to Guatemala!  She looks forward to working with the community partner in Los Andes and painting the elementary school!  She is ready to help the local community near the reserve and learn Spanish alongside her awesome team and trip leaders.

Sara Schulkowski is a sophomore at UMD studying environmental science. This is her first Alternative Break experience, and she is thrilled to be traveling abroad with such a wonderful group of people! She could not be more excited to learn about the Los Andes community in Guatemala and serve them for ten days this winter. The adventure ahead sounds both fun and rewarding. Every service project has a unique feel and creates many new memories to treasure for life. In the past, Sara has participated in the Appalachia Service Project as well as Habitat for Humanity. She is hoping for another successful trip and a way to bring some of the Guatemalan sustainable lifestyle back to UMD. She also hopes that this project will extend past the ten day break and become the beginning of a long term project to serve the beautiful country of Guatemala.

Hyogene (Grace) Cha is from Ellicott City, Maryland in Howard County and is currently a freshman attending the University of Maryland as a business major. Some random facts about her is that she is terrible at basketball (and sports in general), but she is a huge fan of the Washington Wizards; she loves spicy food (Sriracha is life!); and she has a huge passion for community service, and is particularly passionate about equality in education despite socioeconomic differences. She is really excited to be able to be part of the Alternative Breaks experience this winter in Guatemala. She has never been to Guatemala, and is definitely pumped to learn about such an interesting culture! This will be her first AB experience, and she is so grateful to have this opportunity, and definitely even more grateful to have family and friends who support her in all her endeavors.

Spencer Sokoloski is a senior Mechanical Engineering major, with a minor in Computer Science, from Ellicott City, MD. This is Spencer's first time participating in an Alternative Break. He is a big soccer fan, and he is a member of Maryland's club soccer team. He also enjoys watching AMC TV shows like Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, and Mad Men (especially Breaking Bad).

 Vishal Hemnani is a sophomore Global Communities student at the University of Maryland. He intends to major in Accounting and International Business. On campus, he is a part of the Global Ambassadors and Cultural Programming committees. He also is an active participant in the university’s Badminton Club. This is his first Alternative Break but he has had plenty experience doing community service in his own community that he is more than ready to take on something big. He is a die-hard Washington Redskins fan, he loves playing soccer and football and when he relaxes he loves to watch Suits and the Newsroom.

Tara Lewis is a Senior Criminology and Criminal Justice major at the University of Maryland and will be going to law school next fall. She is President of Students Ending Slavery on campus and plays tennis in her free time. This is her second Alternative Break trip (her first was to Washington D.C. to combat human trafficking!).

Sarahann Yeh is a sophomore Biology major from Gaithersburg, Maryland and is very excited to participate in her first Alternative Break experience this winter! She is a proud Life Sciences Scholar and is involved with the Student Government Association, Peer Leadership Council, University Student Judiciary, and is a Guided Study Session leader. This winter, she is hoping to learn more about the Guatemalan culture and sustainable community development alongside her fantastic trip leaders and participants. Outside of school, Sarahann loves traveling, finding new places to fall asleep, and chowing down on ice cream!

Nageen Sherani is a freshman from Gaithersburg, Maryland majoring in Biochemistry. This is her first Alternative Break trip and she is really excited that she has such a great opportunity as a freshman. She is also involved with the Muslim Student Association that helps out the Food Recovery Network every Thursday by packing leftover food from 251. Besides her passion for service she enjoys trivia and reading novels. (A recent favorite is State of Wonder by Ann Patchett) By going to Guatemala this winter, she hopes to integrate the idea of sustainability with community development and be able to use the experience to make a change at UMD. 

Ryan Ouimette is a junior government and politics major at the University of Maryland and a member of the joint Bachelor’s and Master of Public Policy program in which he intends to specialize in Federal Acquisitions Management. He has been a part of the College Park Scholars Public Leadership program and the Federal Semester program. This is his first Alternative Break and also his first time travelling outside of the country. He is a die-hard Atlanta Braves fan, and in his free time enjoys playing pick-up basketball and football.

Abbey Harriss is a sophomore from Baltimore, Maryland and is a marketing and international business double major. She loves to travel and learn about other countries, and is in the Global Communities living learning program here at University of Maryland. She is a community assistant for the Department of Resident Life, and is an active member of the exchange student outreach committee and the Maryland Wishes club. This is her first Alternative Break experience, and she is very excited about it! She can't wait to learn more about the culture of Guatemala and learn how to create more sustainable communities!

Nick Henninger is a sophomore economics major from Bel Air, MD, and a member of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation living-learning program within the UMD Honors College. He plans to graduate from the joint Bachelors/ Masters program in Public Policy, specializing in International Development. In addition to participating in this Alternative Break, Nick is also a service-learning coordinator for TerpCorps, a Community Assistant in Ellicott Hall, and the Student Groups & Organizations Liaison for the Residence Hall Association. Nick is incredibly excited to interact with and learn from the people of Guatemala, and to develop his experiences in localized, asset-based international development.