Over winter break, 27 Saint Anselm College students visited four different locations to grow in their faith while serving others for the winter portion of Campus Ministry's Anselmian B.R.E.A.K. Each year, the program allows students to navigate their faith and spirituality with opportunities to reflect and connect with others through trips to five different experience sites around the country. This year, students travelled to locations including Manchester, N.H., Mariandale, N.Y., and Bethlehem Farm, W.Va. for winter break, and will travel to Pine Ridge Reservation in S.D. during spring break.
“We send out groups of students to various different service experience sites and we work on things from food drives to housing issues, as well as various different social justice issues,” said Andrew Poland, campus minister for faith formation and director of the B.R.E.A.K. program. “Rooted in the Benedictine hallmarks: Benedictine reflection, education, advocacy, and kinship. Combining all of these is an essential way to push students to experience and be with other people in a Benedictine Anselmian light.”
Anselmian B.R.E.A.K allows students to take what they have learned on the Hilltop about Benedictine faith and apply it to their experiential site. Anne Labelle ’26, a forensic science major who co-led the Manchester experience site with Kristen Coleman ’26 reflected on her time giving back to the community. The group sorted food at St. Raphael’s Food Pantry, made 100 Winter Care Bags with Saint Benedict Academy, and sorted donated clothes from the community for the Salvation Army, and gave all of the students a better understanding of the Manchester community.
“Anselmian B.R.E.A.K reshaped my perspective on the community. It deepened my understanding of current issues while showing me how hospitality, empathy, advocacy, and purity through action truly make a difference for those in need,” said Labelle.
Further afield, Anselmian B.R.E.A.K provided four students with the opportunity to go to Mariandale, N.Y. where they learned about regenerative gardening while seeding tulsi, visited Sing Sing Prison where they learned about the history of the incarceration system in the U.S., insulated and put up drywall, volunteered at a clothing distribution center in New York City, and assembled food bags for people with food insecurity.
Abigail Guillemette ’26, a social work major and co-group leader of the New York experience site reflects on her time serving others through Anselmian B.R.E.A.K.
“It has shaped me in so many ways. I have so much privilege to be able to serve alongside these amazing people. I think the media can paint an image of things going on in our world but if we slow down and take time to reflect and engage we can hear people’s stories. I love Anselmian B.R.E.A.K, it's such an amazing experience and I hope more people go,” said Guillemette.
Anselmian B.R.E.A.K allowed seven students to immerse themselves in their newfound community during their time in Bethlehem Farm, W.Va. At the farm students learned about the farm’s four cornerstones: service, simplicity, prayer, and community. These cornerstones are the foundation that the farm has built itself on.
Sarah Lynch ’27, a psychology and sociology major, who co-led the West Virginia experience site with Anna Feeney ’27 explains how she will apply these cornerstones to her life after leaving the farm.
“Since I left the farm, I strive to keep these cornerstones at the forefront of my mind. Living in community and valuing intentional time has taught me how meaningful true presence can be. Service reminds me how even the smallest actions can have a lasting impact. Simplicity encourages me to focus on the present and not worry about the future. Above all, prayer helps me find God's presence in every moment of my life,” shared Lynch.
Students who participate in Anselmian B.R.E.A.K take away a broader understanding of service and justice. The beauty of the experience is that students can take initiative and become their own leader.
“B.R.E.A.K in terms of the uniqueness of it is its agency in being a leader. The agency of leaders and their ability to move that in a social justice light allows them to grow in their faith,” said Poland.
More students have the privilege to experience Anselmian B.R.E.A.K this coming spring break when they travel to Pine Ridge Reservation in S.D.