The Wisconsin Union Directorate's Alternative Breaks Program hosted the first-ever Service Travel Symposium at Union South Tuesday.
WUD Alternative Breaks held the event in recognition of the group's twentieth anniversary and invited other community and travel service groups to take part in the symposium.
WUD Alternative Breaks Director Ali Loker said the symposium served as ""a way for student to see all of their service options in one room and for the different organizations to have a chance to collaborate.""
MEDLIFE, UW Habitat for Humanity, Engineers Without Borders, and the International Internship Program were among the service travel organizations present.
Peace Corps, Learning Enterprises, AIESEC, and Chadborne Residential College Global were also represented by groups of students at the event.
Students that participated in Spring Alternative Breaks this year attended the event to share stories from their service trips across the country, from Yosemite, California to Hubert, North Carolina.
Newly created organizations such as MEDLIFE and Crossing spoke about the service trips offered through their groups to countries like Peru and Kenya.
MEDLIFE works with community members in Latin American countries to improve the community's access to medicine, education and community development.
There was also a representative for the proposed Global Health Certificate, which would be a 15-credit program available to undergraduate students in the 2011-2012 school year.
The Travel Symposium included performances by the Madhatters and local bluegrass band Honey Summer and Fall.
Loker said the event was ""a celebration of the work of UW students have done through service organizations and of the beautiful new Union South.""
