STUDENTS WILL USE SPRING BREAK FOR MORE THAN TANNING

	Hundreds of University of Virginia students will use the
spring break that begins Saturday, March 11, to make a
difference--for others and themselves.

	About 120 students in the Alternative Spring Break program
will travel to Native American reservations, Appalachian
communities, a Mexican town and other sites to help disadvantaged
people by renovating homes, repairing clinics, preparing gardens,
serving in soup kitchens, tutoring and providing day-care.  Now in
its fifth year at U.Va., the program is run entirely by students,
who estimate that the number of student volunteer hours has grown
from 1,344 to 13,481.

	The first year about 20 U.Va. students volunteered at two
sites, according to Kathryn Junkins, student program director.  This
year's program has 10 sites, including ones in Belize and Mexico.
The increase in volunteers is especially significant since students
pay their own expenses to volunteer at the sites, Junkins observed.  

	BreakAway, a national organization that supports student
volunteerism, recently gave the U.Va. program a grant in recognition
of its growth.  The $1,500 grant will help students pay their
travel, housing and food costs.

	ASB has a strict no-alcohol policy for both its domestic and
international sites.  "We consider this critical.  We want students
to focus on the communities they are serving and to learn about
local traditions," Junkins said.  For more information, contact her
at Madison House, a nonprofit organization that coordinates student
volunteerism, at (804) 977-7051.  Her home number is (804) 296-8037.

	To learn about the logistics of transporting more than 100
students to 10 remote sites, contact Charlene Toomer, student
coordinator, at (804) 977-7051 or (804) 296-1041 or May Talman,
student publicity director, at (804) 984-3625.



	About 200 students will participate in a week of nonpaid
work through U.Va.'s Extern Program, the largest program of its kind
in the country.  

	Offered by the Office of Career Planning and Placement, the
program places students in firms to explore careers in fields as
diverse as arts administration and zoology--and gives employers free
help and an easy way to screen potential job candidates.
	Students pay their own costs including transportation,
housing and meals while exploring careers at selected sites across
the United States.  The most popular fields students investigate are
medicine, law and finance, and the preferred locals are Washington,
D.C.; Richmond, VA; and New York City.

	Offered three times a year--during winter, spring and summer
breaks--the program has grown from placing fewer than 100 students
primarily in Virginia to placing 1,2000 students annually throughout
the U.S.  

	Open to second-year students through graduate students, the
program gives participants tips on how to gain the most from the
experience.  "We're seeing more and more job offers come from
externships," said program coordinator Laurie Blomstrom.  

	Now in its 17th year, the program has sponsors at firms who
started at the sites as externs.  For more information, contact
Blomstrom at (804) 924-8908.  



February 23, 1995