Feature Article
BEING BOLD. THINKING HIGHER.
Alternative
Spring Break
By Doug Goodnough
Giving Up Sun & Fun
for a Mississippi Mission
B
iting gnats, demanding physical work and
cramped sleeping quarters in the bowels of
a church—sound like an ideal vacation?
For more than a dozen Siena Heights University
students and six chaperones, the chance to make
a difference in the world outweighed the creature
comforts of a traditional spring break. A Siena
Heights contingent spent their spring break in
Mississippi helping to rebuild an area still devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
“This year students were expressing a lot of
interest and wanting to do something for the
Gulf Coast because of Hurricane Katrina and
Hurricane Rita,”said April Gutierrez, SHU
campus minister who helped organize the trip.
“It was an area that offered a lot of support for
our students.”
The Siena team, which was sponsored by the
SHU chapter of Habitat for Humanity, first traveled to Jackson, Miss., then on to Bay St. Louis,
Miss. Participating in what are called “blitz
builds,” students and chaperones spent the next
four days completing construction on a house for
a displaced family who lost their home during
the hurricanes.
“When we got there, the cement was laid and there
was a frame,”Gutierrez said. “And when we left, we
were painting and finishing the shingles. It looked
like a house. It was pretty exciting to be a part of
that process.”
Most of the students who volunteered were ambitious—but had no skills—including freshman
Derrick Owens.
“I never hammered before this,”said Owens, a native of Detroit, Mich., who also is a member of
the SHU men’s basketball team. “I kind of hit my
thumb a couple of times. It was fun, though. I
had great help beside me. By the end of the trip,
I could handle it.”
“When I first heard about Katrina, I sent money
and it didn’t seem like enough,”said fifth-year
senior Nicole Hoida, of Waldron, Mich., another
member of the team. “I wanted to actually do
something about it. And I didn’t want to waste
spring break doing nothing.”
Gutierrez said students got a chance to install
siding, drywall and help construct other parts of
the house – all under the supervision of Habitat
volunteers. The days were long and hot. But that
did not deter or discourage team members.
“Even on the build, people were smiling all the
time and sharing stories,”Hoida said.
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Reflections Summer ’07