WIT students, staff help build Habitat homes during spring break
By Joanne Fox, Journal staff writer | Posted: Monday, April 07, 2008
Bridgette Oldridge and Courtney Baird peel vigas which will be used on the Habitat for Humanity house's ceiling in Taos, N.M. The Western Iowa Tech Community College students were part of a group that spent spring break helping to build a house. (Submitted photo)
While some college students were relaxing during their spring break, a group from Western Iowa Tech Community College put in hundreds of volunteers hours.
Fourteen students and two WIT staff members traveled to Taos, N.M., on March 15 to participate in Habitat for Humanity's Collegiate Challenge.
The seed for this different approach to spring break was planted two years ago, said Juline Albert, dean of students.
"In working with grant programs, I talked to other folks nationally about things students could do during a break," she said. "I spoke with the national Habitat office about the various sites for the Collegiate Challenge. Then, I approached the student senate last fall and asked if they were interested in supporting this type of trip."
Courtney Baird of Moville and Greg Olerich of Sioux City were enthusiastic proponents of the concept.
"The big draw for me was going somewhere I had never been before," Olerich said.
"I always volunteered in high school and I wanted to do that again," Baird said.
The senate threw its support behind the project and started finding and encouraging others to take part in the trip. That first meeting last October drew about 30, including Mike Brown, student activities coordinator at WIT, who was one of two chaperones with Ann Jenkins, instructional designer at WIT.
"I work with a lot of faculty at WIT, but not as many students in the classroom and I saw this as a real opportunity to work with the kids again," Jenkins said. "I miss that."
To meet the expenses involved with the trip, participants sold bricks and doors on a house that was portrayed on windows by the cafeteria. Costs were kept to a minimum by using two 15-passenger WIT vans and staying at a church in Taos.
Once on site, the students were given direction on building an adobe house for a single mother with a disabled daughter by local Habitat officials. The students worked alongside other volunteers to build a simple, decent and affordable Habitat for Humanity house.
"It was hard work," stressed Tonia Woehler of Sioux City. "We had to learn how to create the bricks which were made out of a ratio of lime, cement and water and weighed about 40 pounds."
"But it was nice to be working with my hands," pointed out Rodney Wabashaw of Sioux City, who was previously employed in a restoration, reconstruction and cleaning firm. "And I loved meeting new people. The locals were really nice and I made some friends who I still stay in contact with."
It was a trip back to his roots for WIT student Jeffery Donovan of Sioux City.
"My home state is New Mexico," he said. "And that first day I was on the job, I had a job offer from a contractor. He said anytime I wanted to join his crew, I was welcome."
Students agreed unanimously they would repeat the trip.
"It was a great experience for me," said Iris Seaman of Sioux City. "It definitely took me out of my comfort zone."
Brown noticed an increased camaraderie upon their return to campus among those students who took the trip.
"I see there is a relationship between them now that wasn't there before," he said. "I see them walking together in the hall and I didn't see that before."
Albert agreed that the students didn't "only" learn to build a house.
"They have also seen how their actions can help improve people's lives by providing safe, affordable shelter through a Habitat for Humanity home," she said.
Throughout its 19-year history, more than 155,000 students have traveled to build Habitat houses through the Collegiate Challenge. More than 12,000 students have signed up to help build homes in 210 locations as part of this year's Collegiate Challenge.
Based on this year's success, Albert said the college will begin the process of organizing a trip for the next school year.
Fourteen students and two WIT staff members traveled to Taos, N.M., on March 15 to participate in Habitat for Humanity's Collegiate Challenge.
The seed for this different approach to spring break was planted two years ago, said Juline Albert, dean of students.
"In working with grant programs, I talked to other folks nationally about things students could do during a break," she said. "I spoke with the national Habitat office about the various sites for the Collegiate Challenge. Then, I approached the student senate last fall and asked if they were interested in supporting this type of trip."
Courtney Baird of Moville and Greg Olerich of Sioux City were enthusiastic proponents of the concept.
"The big draw for me was going somewhere I had never been before," Olerich said.
"I always volunteered in high school and I wanted to do that again," Baird said.
The senate threw its support behind the project and started finding and encouraging others to take part in the trip. That first meeting last October drew about 30, including Mike Brown, student activities coordinator at WIT, who was one of two chaperones with Ann Jenkins, instructional designer at WIT.
"I work with a lot of faculty at WIT, but not as many students in the classroom and I saw this as a real opportunity to work with the kids again," Jenkins said. "I miss that."
To meet the expenses involved with the trip, participants sold bricks and doors on a house that was portrayed on windows by the cafeteria. Costs were kept to a minimum by using two 15-passenger WIT vans and staying at a church in Taos.
Once on site, the students were given direction on building an adobe house for a single mother with a disabled daughter by local Habitat officials. The students worked alongside other volunteers to build a simple, decent and affordable Habitat for Humanity house.
"It was hard work," stressed Tonia Woehler of Sioux City. "We had to learn how to create the bricks which were made out of a ratio of lime, cement and water and weighed about 40 pounds."
"But it was nice to be working with my hands," pointed out Rodney Wabashaw of Sioux City, who was previously employed in a restoration, reconstruction and cleaning firm. "And I loved meeting new people. The locals were really nice and I made some friends who I still stay in contact with."
It was a trip back to his roots for WIT student Jeffery Donovan of Sioux City.
"My home state is New Mexico," he said. "And that first day I was on the job, I had a job offer from a contractor. He said anytime I wanted to join his crew, I was welcome."
Students agreed unanimously they would repeat the trip.
"It was a great experience for me," said Iris Seaman of Sioux City. "It definitely took me out of my comfort zone."
Brown noticed an increased camaraderie upon their return to campus among those students who took the trip.
"I see there is a relationship between them now that wasn't there before," he said. "I see them walking together in the hall and I didn't see that before."
Albert agreed that the students didn't "only" learn to build a house.
"They have also seen how their actions can help improve people's lives by providing safe, affordable shelter through a Habitat for Humanity home," she said.
Throughout its 19-year history, more than 155,000 students have traveled to build Habitat houses through the Collegiate Challenge. More than 12,000 students have signed up to help build homes in 210 locations as part of this year's Collegiate Challenge.
Based on this year's success, Albert said the college will begin the process of organizing a trip for the next school year.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
