Acts of kindness students dedicate their breaks to helping others.

• Position: Caring PEOPLE

Students improved the lives of hundreds of people this year through their desire to serve and the university's Alternative Break Program. Four collective trips during fall and spring breaks brought clean water to a village in Guatemala, restored homes for tornado victims in Tuscaloosa, Ala. and created a new trail for hikers to conquer at Joshua Tree National Park in California.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A global journey began in the fall when a group of students traveled to a small village in Guatemala. Their mission? To install water purifiers, close-fire stoves and supply families in the country with medicines and multivitamins for their children. Students raised $20,000 for the trip and helped more than 500 people in the small village.

The trip holds a special meaning for senior Dylan Robinson: He was born in Guatemala and adopted by American parents when he was 8 months old.

"I have gained so much from these trips," says Robinson, who participated in seven alternative break trips total during his time at HPU. "Every trip is different in its own way and teaches me a lot about myself. Since I was born and adopted from Guatemala, I love that I get the chance to give back to the country where I came from. It definitely puts your life in a different perspective."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Two trips were taken to Tuscaloosa, Ala. this year--one in the fall and one in the spring--to help residents recover after a tornado devastated the area two years ago. In the spring, students repaired the home of an 85-year-old woman and cleared debris still left from the storm.

"When we pulled up to Mrs. Hollingsworth's home, she was so tickled that a...