Every night of our spring break trip in Key West the entire group of 14 brothers cooked and ate dinner together. Some of the meals we prepare together were spaghetti and meatballs, tacos, and hamburgers and hotdogs. Although everyone looked forward to the delicious meals each night, we all were even more excited for the bonding that took place around our one dinner table. Each night we took turns reflecting on our favorite part of the service project from that day, as well as any ...

Alex S., a current pledge in the Florida Chapter, recounts a day of cleaning Woman Key during our recent Service Trip to Key West:"On our third day of service in Key West, we boated out to the island Woman Key to do a beach clean up. Woman Key is a nature preserve owned by the Key West National Wildlife Refuge and is closed to the public for wildlife habitat protection. As a result, all the marine debris that was found and collected on the island had been washed up from the ocean. We ...

Keith G. (pictured: second to the right in the back row with his mask on), a current pledge for the Florida Chapter was excited to be able to relate his experiences during our Key West Service Trip to his current and recent classes:"After four days of service around the Florida Keys, we decided to spend our last day having some fun.  To that extent, we all went on a snorkeling trip, taking a catamaran out to a coral reef about seven miles from Key West.  All suited up in our masks, ...

During our spring break, brothers of the Florida Chapter performed our first ever Spring Break Service Trip to Key West. I began planning this trip during the fall semester when I contacted the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to see if we could volunteer with their agency. The sanctuary protects approximately 3,000 square nautical miles of coral reefs, sea grass meadows, mangroves, and sea flats with the goal of educating the public about the varieties of impacts, pressures, and ...

On the first day of the Florida Chapter's inaugural spring break service trip, we were put to work by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in helping to restore the shoreline and mangroves of Sugar Loaf Key to their natural beauty. We were equipped with pickers, heavy-duty scissors, gloves, trash bags, and kayaks before being guided through one of the Florida Key's many protected waterways. We were able to absorb the richness of life within the Florida Keys ecosystem, and with ...

      This spring break, the University of Florida's Alpha Zeta chapter had the most amazing experience of executing a mission trip in the beautiful Florida Keys. Throughout the week we cleaned public beaches such as Boca Chica, private government islands such as Women's Cove, and public park areas such as Sugarloaf Key. As much fun as we had on this trip (soaking up the sun, getting to know our brothers, and enjoying the Key West atmosphere) we also made a difference. Over our 3 days of ...

Spring break holds a different meaning to every college student you talk to. For me it usually involves getting a week off school to spend with my family and friends back home. However, this year I decided to try something new. Little did I know that it was going to exceed any and all expectations I had of my spring break. I signed up for the Alpha Zeta Service trip to Key West, FL because I thought it was a good way to give back to the community while going to a place that I had never been ...

On March 4, 2014 the Cal Epsilon chapter held its fourth chapter meeting of the semester.  It was at this meeting that all potential new members were prestigiously invited to come and learn more about what Alpha Zeta has to offer.  The meeting was conducted as a normal informal business meeting.  Cal Epsilon had over forty pledges, active members, and guests present – the room was completely full!  Two of our very own Cal Epsilon members presented a platform speech to ...

Here is a reflection on the Florida Chapter's recent service trip to Key West from current Pledge Lorelei P. (pictured on right with another current pledge Alex S.):"The final day of our service trip called for some much needed relaxation and bonding. Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park boasts about having the best beaches in Key West, so the group decided there was no where else we wanted to spend our last day. The historic state park has a large defining feature unique to it: Fort ...

This past weekend, the Florida Chapter conducted a road clean up on our adopted road in Gainesville. This road clean up was very exciting because we had 2 brothers that have never been to our adopted road before. We spent an hour cleaning our road both down and back. I was amazed at how many people stopped by to thank us for cleaning up in their community. All in all, we picked up 2 bags of trash and cannot wait for our next one!