Fifteen students from Penn State Behrend are at Roaring River State Park in Missouri as part of the Alternative Spring Break program. They will clear brush, build a kiosk, and improve the park’s trail system, which was built in the 1930s.
ERIE, Pa. — Roaring River is Missouri’s most popular state park, drawing nearly 2 million visitors every year. Brooke Korb will be busier than most.
Korb, a senior in the biology program at Penn State Behrend, traveled to the Ozarks to do trail work at the park. She’s building on a tradition that began in the 1930s, when the Civilian Conservation Corps built many of Roaring River’s original structures, including Camp Smokey, the group camp.
Korb is with a team of 15 students and three advisers, all of whom have volunteered their time through Behrend’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program. They are clearing brush, updating water bars, and building a kiosk in the park.
“I hope to make the trails more accessible for all park-goers,” said Korb, who has participated in ASB in each of the last four years. “Getting out in nature is important for health and wellness. Our work will ensure that more people can do that.”
Korb credits ASB with pushing her out of her comfort zone. On her first student trip, to Fort Myers, Florida, she helped clear water-logged materials out of a home that was damaged by Hurricane Ian. Two years later, she returned and visited the restored home.
“Seeing the impact our group had and seeing the homeowner living happily is something I will never forget,” she said. “Even a week’s work can have an impact on the communities ASB serves.”
Kseniya Tischenko, a senior in the nursing program at Behrend, applied for her first ASB trip in her sophomore year, hoping to make new friends and improve her resume.
“I never anticipated the impact ASB would have on me,” she said. “It is incredibly rewarding to build a team from scratch and, by the end, accomplish something you never could have achieved on your own.”
The group eats, sleeps and works together. That forges deep friendships that continue long after the trip, Tischenko said.
“ASB has taught me to be confident in myself, and to lead in a crowd,” she said. “Most importantly, it bonded me to some of the most important people in my life.”
Olivia Whatmore, a senior in the interdisciplinary science and business program, joined ASB to experience different parts of the country.
“A lot of places that you go to on ASB are vastly different from what I have experienced,” she said. “Whether it is the communities you are helping, or the geographic location we go to, every year is a new experience.”
Whatmore knew only one person on the 2025 trip. This year, she is serving as a student leader.
“Heading into the program, I was a little scared, because I was unsure what to expect,” she said. “Now, I look back and am extremely grateful that I joined.
“That trip changed me as a person,” she said.
Robb Frederick
Director of Strategic Communications, Penn State Behrend
