United Way of Morris County News
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Shaunna Rubin Joins United Way’s ASB for a Second Year – Returns to Gulf Coast as a Team Leader.
January 31, 2008

Shaunna Rubin did not return from last year's spring break sunburned and sleepy.  Yes, she had been in the heat, and yes, she did have a "compromised" sleeping situation, but her spring break experience was quite different from many of her classmates at Fairleigh Dickinson University. 

Shaunna, FDU ‘09, returned from her spring break with her "whole world changed around."  She had participated in United Way of America's Alternative Spring Break, spending her week away from school hammering, hoisting, and painting.  But she also had great fun, made great friends, met some incredible survivors of Hurricane Katrina, and returned to New Jersey ready to change things around in her own personal world. 

A tour of the lower 9th Ward, decimated by Hurricane Katrina, was the first eye opener that Shaunna encountered.  She remarked, "How lucky we are!  So many simple things we take for granted."  Shaunna's next surprise was her reaction to the work she was given.  She did not expect to enjoy herself so much, did not expect to make such a physical difference at the work site during her short stay, and certainly did not expect to suddenly rethink her entire future. 

Formerly a Psychology major, Shaunna is now preparing for a future working with non-profits, focusing on communications. 

To have even a brief conversation with Shaunna is to feel her enthusiasm.  She already recruited two FDU friends, Leanne Adubato and Maya Ribot, to apply for Team Leader positions for this year's Alternative Spring Break.  All three were recently accepted as Leaders for the Mississippi trip that runs from March 15th through the 22nd.  Each will be in charge of a team of college students from across the nation who will work in Biloxi, Mississippi. 

United Way of Morris County will also be well represented this March, as staff members Diane Kaminskas, Laura Tan, and Melissa Wankmuller will also lead teams of college students working throughout the Gulf Coast.

Applications for the Alternative Spring Break program are still being processed.  FDU student Kayla Kays already knows that she has been accepted, but Shaunna, Maya and Leanne do not yet know the names of the other students they will be leading.

Still, they are already very excited about their new responsibility. 

To Shaunna, that responsibility translates into an opportunity to help more of her contemporaries have a meaningful experience while helping the strong and proud people from the Gulf Coast.