This year, Brothers from around the country will be going to Shelby, Mississippi for the 2nd annual Phi Sigma Pi Alternative Break Project (ABP). The project, scheduled to take place the first week of January, will be Brothers doing everything possible to transform two playgrounds for the students of Shelby Middle School. Read more.
Welcome to my daily blog of our Alternative Break Project in Shelby, Mississippi! Our goal is to build a pond for the students here at Shelby Middle School so that it can be used in their life-sciences studies.
Here, you’ll be able to read about our daily adventures and successes throughout the course of the week.
A special “thank you” to all the Brothers who are here with me, making this happen:
Tamara Arredondo (Beta Chapter)
Denise Cavanagh (Alpha Epsilon Chapter)
Avery Cootes (Gamma Theta Chapter)
Joseph Grissom (Beta Chapter)
Julia Hansen (Beta Chapter)
Lacy Kelly (Gamma Phi Chapter)
Steve Mikkelson (Gamma Theta Chapter)
Lauren Millerd (Beta Pi Chapter)
Michelle Rodgers (Delta Kappa Chapter)
Mallory Stites (Beta Chapter)
Natalie Swierzbin (Gamma Epsilon Chapter)
Rebecca Torres (Alpha Iota Chapter)
Kyle Williams (Gamma Delta Chapter)
Enjoy!
Anika S. M. Jackson, Director of Member Services
Keep up to date with the project:
- Project Blog
- YouTube
- Day 1 - Introduction (videos by VP of Chapter Development Williams)
Project Blog written by Director of Member Services Anika Jackson
 at Welcome Dinner.JPG)
Day 2, January 6, 2009
What a busy day! We arrived at Shelby Middle School around 9 a.m. and were greeted by the principal, Mr. Lordi, and Coach Cooper, who teaches sixth grade math and coaches at least two sports. Both of these men were excited to see us and we were excited to get to work!
After watching a brief “how-to” video about installing a pond, Coach Cooper led us to the worksite. While the main hole for the pond had been dug, there was still plenty of digging to be done. We dug a “lip” around the top portion of the pond to allow fish to eat, as well as a 4’x4’x4’ hole for the bog, a whole for the filtration system and a hole for the waterfall. Yes…we were digging!
After a brief lunch break, we were back at the worksite to “fine-tune” our digging work before the rain came and forced us back inside. Admittedly, it was hard to get some Brothers to leave the site even though our work for today was done!
Tonight, we attended a Southern-style, home-cooked, pot luck welcome dinner hosted by the Shelby community. Great meal aside (some Brothers got really excited about the cornbread, collard greens and banana pudding), it was great to meet so many people who’ve lived in Shelby all their lives and could tell about the many connections they have to the community.
Many from the community who attended, including the Shelby mayor, president of the Shelby Chamber of Commerce and assistant superintendent for the school district, expressed how excited they were to see a national organization commit so much to their “small town.” From their personal stories, we learned about the true dedication from the people of Shelby to their community and students.
Due to heavy rain/storms predicted to move into the area tomorrow, we'll be in elementary, middle and high school classrooms to interact with students tomorrow instead of Friday. Brothers have been very excited for this portion of the trip. I’m sure I’ll have some great stories to share tomorrow!
Day 1, January 5, 2009
Today was supposed to be a travel day, but the adventure actually started sooner than expected. Due to poor weather conditions, some Brothers were delayed in arriving, but we all got here safely.
The excitement and commitment I see in the Brothers thus far makes me excited to see the project get underway.
Despite the weather predictions of more bad weather, we’re moving forward with our plans as best we can. Our goal is to create an operational life-sciences
pond for the students here at Shelby Middle School. A challenge, indeed, but well worth the long-term experiences it will provide the SMS students!
It’s great to see Brothers living the legs of our tripod!