Over the course of spring break, I went on an environmentalism focused alternative service break with NC State’s office of Student Leadership and Engagement. Alternative service breaks allow students to gain international awareness about pressing issues as well as gain some cultural enrichment to the location they visit. I wasn’t too familiar with anything related to both Iceland or environmentalism before this trip, so I decided to give it a shot. This was an amazing experience that taught me more about international travel, the importance of conservation and environmentalism, and the future of renewable energy within the world. 

Before we even began the trip, we spent hours learning about many interesting Icelandic facts and energy resources. To start, learning about their geothermal energy manipulation was a very unique experience and getting to tour the plant was a dream come true. As an electrical engineer, we spend some coursework focused on the generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical energy. However, I feel that this curriculum lacks the breadth of where that energy comes from and how it can be damaging to the environment. Many of our current energy systems are causing harm to the environment, especially the fossil fuels we use to generate most of our electricity. However, Iceland is a totally green country that doesn’t use any fossil fuels and instead uses only renewable energy. Getting to learn about this and see it in practice made me question the feasibility of a similar system in the United States. 

In addition to the energy side of the trip, we also learned more about the culture of Iceland and did many service activities, such as beach cleaning. Each of the activities we did

showed me how important service is for the world and how it can take many different forms. For example, in many alternative service breaks, we focused on people-facing activities. This could be STEM tutoring, volunteering at food banks, and meeting with policymakers. This trip did something different, where we were not surrounded by people, but were still doing something important that is too often forgotten. On the cultural side, it was interesting to see the difference between Icelandic social interactions and food menus. I felt that it was very similar to American culture. I learned that due to the small size of the country, most of the media and music comes from America or the UK, so there were an astounding number of similarities. 

While I enjoyed the hands-on service, we also spent a great deal of time enjoying the natural beauty of Iceland. We saw multiple glaciers, mountains, waterfalls, and more. We went on a glacier hike, jumped inside of a hot spring, and toured the Golden Circle of Iceland. I felt that this was even more impactful considering the purpose of the trip was to focus on the environment and why it is so important that we act now before things like this become rarer sights. The glacier we walked on was receding more and more every year, and one day it may cease to exist altogether. Thinking of this and issues like it revitalize me to continue pushing toward progress. 

Overall, this was an amazing trip with an awesome team. I am very proud of my team and trip leaders for organizing this event, and I believe that many of the things that I learned and saw can be applied to my local community for different applications. Both the Goodnight Scholars Program and the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement gave me this opportunity to set a foundation for future work both domestically and abroad. I know there will be many ways to get involved in the future and use the knowledge I gained to engineer more efficient and effective systems for all to enjoy

I’ve attached some photos of the experience below