91AV students help build homes with Habitat for Humanity during spring break

Twenty 91AV students in the Habitat for Humanity club used their time over the 2013 spring break to travel to Peoria, Arizona, to help build houses for two different families with the Central Arizona Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Work at the sites primarily involved helping roof the house, but the students also worked on dry wall, brackets, caulking, spackling, painting, and making shelves.

This is the twelfth year that the Habitat for Humanity club has taken an alternative spring break trip.  Previous trips have gone across the country to various locations in Washington, Texas, Louisiana, and South Carolina. This trip wouldn’t have been possible without the guidance of their two advisors, Amy Carlson, a graduate student in the Marine Science Program, and Shireen Rahman, M.S., ATC, a clinical instructor in the Exercise and Sport Performance Department, who helped make the trip a reality.

Planning, organizing, and fundraising for this trip began as soon as students arrived on campus in the fall. During the trip, the 91AV students worked for six days and had one day to travel on their own, which was spent at the Grand Canyon. The students raised more than $5,000 to fund their trip, primarily through numerous bake sales and fundraisers at Family and Friends Weekend.

The participating students include: Angie Dwyer (’13), Ashley Tomaswick (’13), Erin Belanger (’14), Melissa Berndt (’14), Kaylee Dubois (’14), Angie Dupont (’14), Brendan Emanuel (’14), Kerri Grant (’14), Elisha Lacey (’14), Katlyn Schmersal (’14), Zack Verzillo (’14), Sammy Frederickson (’15), Emily Boulton (’16), Jordan DeSousa (’16), Alessia Giannozzi (’16), Jordyn LeBlanc (’16), Kayla Licata (’16) ,and Maggie Middleton (’16).
 

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.