Crewe Answers the Call to Serve Others Via JMU’s Alternative Break Program

For many student-athletes, spring break might mean a chance to focus on competition for one week without academic obligations or perhaps time to sit back and relax with their competitive seasons having concluded. For track and field's Morgan Crewe, it meant an opportunity to reach out to others for a week of service.

"I've always really been into service and volunteering," noted Crewe, a sophomore high jumper from Emporia, Va. "I volunteer at an elementary school here and I volunteered some at home, but one of my friends mentioned it to me and I thought that it would be really fun."

It in this case referred to James Madison's Alternative Break Program offered through the Community Service-Learning Office. Throughout the year, students embark on service trips both throughout the United States and internationally to focus on various areas of active citizenship while living by simple means and submerging themselves in the culture of their surroundings. Trips take place during Thanksgiving week, May session, weekends throughout the academic year as well as spring break.

JMU has earned national recognition for its alternative break program and the commitment by its students to service. Approximately 300 students participated in this year's 23 spring break trips with Crewe being the only student-athlete.

The opportunity became available to Crewe as a result of redshirting the 2014-15 indoor season. With the outdoor season starting one week after spring break, she was able to fit her training regimen around the parameters of the trip.

"I saw that they had a trip that dealt with mental health, specifically people with developmental disabilities," said Crewe. "I've had a lot of experience in this area, and with my future career, I want to work with kids with autism, so I figured it'd be a great opportunity as well as an opportunity to work with people who have a variety of other disabilities. I kind of did it on a whim, but it ended up being a really great choice."

Crewe's ASB group, which consisted of two student leaders, seven student participants and one faculty/staff learning partner, spent the week in Charlotte, N.C. while serving LIFESPAN, a non-profit organization that supports children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in western and central North Carolina.

While the week is an important and memorable experience for JMU students, it is equally important for the organization. Davan Cloninger, LIFESPAN President and CEO, noted, "For 10 years, LIFESPAN has been honored to receive the James Madison students through the Alternative Spring Break program. The students provide a week of dynamic volunteerism at LIFESPAN programs across North Carolina. Our program participants and staff look forward to the annual visit from our Harrisonburg, Virginia friends and positive experiences are had by all. This unique learning experience gives both parties an opportunity to witness each other's abilities. We appreciate this partnership and continue to be in awe of the service-above-self mentality that the students and future leaders exhibit during alternative spring break."

The group journeyed to multiple LIFESPAN locations to learn about the variety of services offered by the organization as well as to spread out the scope of its impact. The volunteer opportunities included manual labor tasks such as painting or cleaning as well as chances to interact with the individuals to learn more about intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Crewe explained, "While we did some manual labor to help in any way we could, we also had a good mix of interacting with the individuals who went to the schools or day services. That was awesome for me because we got to do something where we could say 'look I painted that' and it was a physical object, but we also got to work with people who were the nicest people and who would tell you that you made their day or you made them smile and that's a great feeling too. We had a great mix of things that allowed us to serve in multiple ways."

While the agenda for most days included some kind of physical project, in many cases it was the one-on-one interactions that provided the most memorable moments for each day. Crewe commented, "One of my favorite things that happened all week was that I got to meet one individual with an intellectual disability while we were working in Troutman and they were getting ready for an art show in May. One of the staff members was having us take some of the artwork and touch it up from where it had been moved from building to building and gotten scratched up. One individual came and sat down next to me and someone had told her I was doing work and not to bother me, but I told her 'no, it's okay of course she could come sit with me.' Then she ended up picking up a paintbrush and working with me. During the day while I was there, we ended up painting together quite a bit and she turned out to be really good at painting. She was nonverbal, but I talked to her the whole time. She was able to communicate a little bit with sounds and her hands. Making that personal connection with someone was really important to me and my favorite part."

Crewe noted that while the service with LIFESPAN itself shaped so much of the trip, the composition of the group, the dedication of her fellow group members and the reflections shared throughout the trip equally impacted the quality of her experience. She said of her "family" for the week, "It was definitely a very diverse group of people. Everyone there was so passionate about what they were doing and I can't say enough or speak highly enough of the people that I was with. To be able to give justice to what they did for those we were serving and for me, they were just the most encouraging and uplifting people that I've ever met."

As a psychology major, Crewe had a head start in terms of knowledge of the population being served with LIFESPAN. The trip provided her with affirmation regarding her future career options. It also fulfilled her intrinsic desire to serve others, a passion that fuels a lot of her time outside of track and field and schoolwork.

"I believe that you should do as much to help people as you can. So I think what better way to do that than by doing community service wherever you are. I try to get involved in the Harrisonburg Community. I volunteer at an elementary school here in the Harrisonburg area, but I'd like to do more. Service has always been a really important part of my life. That's my personality. I feel like I can do that both in my everyday life as well as with structured and planned community service events."

JMU Director of Track and Field Ta' Frias confirmed Crewe's commitment to service, saying, "It does not surprise me that Morgan committed to the trip. She is a very giving person and volunteers many hours to community service during the year. We spoke briefly about her trip at practice and her face lit up when I asked her about it. I believe helping others gives her so much fulfillment that this trip invigorated her to continue to do more."

Both her commitment to service and her growth in service were apparent, according to trip co-leader Stephanie Pankewicz. She agreed with Frias, saying, "To say that Morgan's desire to serve is anything less than intrinsic would be wrong. Many times throughout the week I was impressed by her dedication to LIFESPAN, the individuals we were serving and the greater social issue at hand.

"Watching Morgan grow, along with all the other participants, was one of the best parts of the trip. I believe the greatest change I saw in Morgan throughout the week was her growth in confidence. Along with that, many previous beliefs Morgan held were affirmed throughout the trip, and it seemed to make her more confident and empowered."

As Crewe looks to build upon the school record that she set in the high jump as a freshman, it is obvious that her experiences with LIFESPAN will leave a strong and lasting impact on her life moving forward. She stated, "The combination of spending time with an awesome organization like LIFESPAN and knowing that awesome places like that exist as well as spending a week with nine really amazing people, I can't even put into words the impact that experience had on me. I don't feel like this is something that is going to leave me. As cliché as it sounds, it really changed my life. Having just a week of experiences changed my perspective so much and motivated me to do so much more than I've been doing. I feel like I have so much more to give."

Crewe concluded by emphasizing, "I think it's especially important, not just for JMU students, but for JMU student-athletes specifically, to get more involved in the community. My coordinating teacher at the elementary school was amazed when I told her I was an athlete. That shouldn't be the case. I just think there should be more individuals going out and helping in the community at JMU. Athletes have a special opportunity to go out and make a difference."

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