Creating the Extraordinary Student Experience : Office of Student Life

Role and Expectations

The Roles of a Trip Leader

  • Educate Participants
    • Trip Leaders are responsible for educating their participants on social issues impacting their service site(s), familiarizing them with the community in which they will be working, and training participants on the skills they will need to successfully and effectively complete the project. Resources to guide this education process will be provided in trip leader training sessions.
  • Plan Trip and Pre-Trip Logistics
    • Trip Leaders are required to coordinate pre-trip meetings with participants, plan a detailed trip schedule including free-time activities, organize team fundraisers (as requested by participants), and facilitate group teambuilding experiences on and before their trip. Support will be provided by Buck-I-SERV Advisory Board members throughout the planning process. Trip leaders are required to travel roundtrip with the group. 
  • Encourage Reflection
    • Trip Leaders will help plan and ensure the facilitation of reflection activities on each day of the break trip. As a crucial component of each trip, reflection must be encouraged by trip leaders in a positive and thoughtful manner.
  • Build Team
    • Trip Leaders oversee daily logistics, manage group dynamics, enforce and educate the Substance Free policy, and facilitate daily reflections. Through this oversight, trip leaders should help to build team unity, encourage full participation, and promote a fun and open environment for learning about oneself and others before and during the trip.

Mandatory Leader Trainings and Events - 

  • If selected as a trip leader, full attendance and participation at all trainings and events is required. All Trip Leaders attend a series of three trip leader training session specficially for the leader role. Additionally, all Trip Leaders are required to attend the Trip Kick-Off event (pre-trip), Pre-Departure Meeting, and Welcome Back Gala (post-trip). Finally, all Trip Leaders are expected to facilitate three small group meetings with their specific trips and participants. 

Due to significant time and energy committed on the part of leaders toward the management and overall success of their trips, leaders will attend trips AT A REDUCED COST, contingent upon adherence to all expectations listed above. Missed training sessions and trip-related events will result in an increased cost in trip, starting at $50 and increasing up to the full participant price of the designated trip.

Short Answer/Essay Questions and Interview Process

Trip leaders will be expected to respond to the following application questions. We encourage applicants to review and draft responses prior to accessing the application to avoid issues with the system "timing out". If you do not receive a confirmation email from the Buck-I-SERV system, your application was not submitted, and you will need to fix any errors and resubmit the application form. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure the successful submission of the application.

An interview process will be used to then select domestic trip leaders for winter and spring trips. Additional information about time and location will be forwarded to successful applicants. 

Short answer essay questions include:

  • What strengths would you bring to a Buck-I-SERV team as a leader?
  • What do you hope to gain by serving as a leader on a Buck-I-SERV trip?
  • Each Buck-I-SERV trip focuses on one or more social justice areas. Please explain one of your main areas of interest for leading social justice conversations with a group. What are some examples of social justice topics you would like to address within your trip?