Our Team!


“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Desmond Tutu

“If we aren’t intersectional, some of us, the most vulnerable, are going to fall through the cracks.” Kimberle Crenshaw

Hi! I’m Miranda and I’m a transfer student from Oregon, I came to UT to study Forensic Anthropology at the Forensic Anthropology Center. I’m a double major in Anthropology (Disasters Displacements and Human Rights concentration) and Psychology, with a Minor in Women and Gender Studies. With my education background I bring a lot of previous knowledge and passion about gender, intersectionality, and LGBT issues to this trip theme.


I am so excited to lead this trip and share my knowledge with you all! My first experience with Alternative Breaks was as a participant in Fall 2014 trip to Atlanta for Issues in the LGBT Community, and I led a trip Spring 2017 Gender Issues and Modern Inequalities. 

In my free time, I am an avid CrossFitter and Olympic weightlifter, I like to read, go to the gym with my boyfriend, love on my pit bull, I have a keen interest in television drama series, and I am helping my sister to raise her son Rowan.










Hello! My name is Amanda Kuipers, and I am one of your co leaders for this trip. I am a currently a Junior and my major is Child and Family Studies focusing on Early Childhood Education PreK-3. 

I went on an alternative spring break trip last semester on Youth Development and I absolutely loved it, so I’m hoping to help you all enjoy and see the value behind alternative breaks. 

I work 2 jobs so I don’t have much free time, but when I’m not doing homework or working,  my favorite hobby is baking.








Morgan Ridgell will be our Learning Partner on our trip. She is an Academic Advisor in the College of Arts & Sciences. Prior to relocating to Knoxville, she received her M.Ed. in Student Personnel Administration in Higher Education from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Though a North Carolina Native, she considers Kentucky to be her second home where she earned a B.A. in Communication and African-American Studies from the University of Louisville. 

Morgan is thrilled to serve as a Learning Partner for the 2017 Alternative Fall Break trip. She’s even more excited about this year’s theme: Issues in Intersectionality and Inclusion. As a young professional black woman at UT, she’s aware of her intersecting identities and how that impacts the work she does. Her graduate research has involved underrepresented first-year students at Predominately White Institutions (PWI), underrepresented students in STEM, and black identity development. Morgan hopes to continue to walk in purpose each day by helping students become the best versions of themselves.  






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