Jessica Vazquez of Crete participates in civil rights service-learning trip

2014 Apr 1

While many students headed home or to a beach over spring break, a group of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, including Jessica Vazquez of Crete, participated in a service-learning trip focused on civil rights.

Vazquez is a sophomore English, Spanish and film studies major.

Twenty-nine UNL students from the William H. Thompson Scholars Learning Community participated in a trip March 21-28 titled "Civil Rights in Contemporary Perspective." The trip explored a wide range of civil rights issues such as poverty, socio-economic status, community building, volunteerism and the history of the civil rights movement in the United States. Travel stops included Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., Cleveland, Miss., three days of service work in New Orleans, the National Civil Rights Museum and the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum in Memphis, Tenn., and the Ozarks.

Emira Ibrahimpasic, one of the organizers, said that the trip was designed to provide a first-hand perspective on different historical events that led to the formation of the civil rights movement.

The William H. Thompson Scholars Learning Community is specifically designed for UNL students who have been awarded a scholarship from the Susan T. Buffett Foundation. Students take co-enrolled courses together, participate in academic, social and cultural programs, and work with upper-class peer mentors to facilitate their academic transition and success at UNL.

For more information, go to http://www.unl.edu/wht/home.