Bowling Green, Ky. - For about 65 Western Kentucky University students, spring break will be more than beach parties at exotic locations.

Starting March 19, the students along with eight faculty and staff members will be traveling to eight U.S. cities to work on Habitat for Humanity projects.

“It’s more than just going to a beach,” said Lindsay Yates, a junior from Kingston Springs, Tenn., who is participating in her second Habitat Collegiate Challenge. “I felt like I came back a different person. You look at the world through different lenses.”

Yates, vice president of the WKU chapter, and chapter co-adviser Bryan Reaka were among about 10 WKU participants in last spring’s Habitat Collegiate Challenge project in Americus, Ga.

This year, WKU groups will travel to Fort Smith, Ark.; Wauchula, Fla.; Americus, Ga.; St. Joseph, Mo.; Washington, Pa.; Eastman, Ga.; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; and Statesville, N.C.

Reaka, an assistant professor in the Department of Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences, got his start with Habitat for Humanity on a spring break trip about 11 years ago. He’s excited that interest from students, faculty, staff and administrators is growing as WKU emphasizes civic engagement and service learning.

“We couldn’t make these trips without the support of Provost Barbara Burch and without the hard work of our student leaders,” Reaka said.

“This is just a stepping stone for student involvement,” said chapter president Dana Adams, a Franklin freshman. “You can start out here in Bowling Green on a Habitat project then travel across the United States then globally.”

Adams, who’ll be traveling to Honduras in May for a Habitat Global Village trip, is looking forward to spending spring break in Wauchula, Fla., where the WKU team will help repair hurricane-damaged homes. “Being able to travel, especially to Florida where you can actually help people rebuild their homes, is a great experience,” she said.

The spring trips are a positive outreach for the WKU Campus Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, Reaka said. “We’re taking WKU to eight cities. We are ambassadors for the University,” he said.

The campus chapter has been busy planning for the trips and seeking student volunteers since last fall. WKU’s Leadership and Volunteerism Programs and the Office of International Programs also are supporting the effort.

Each team has a student leader and a faculty/staff leader. “By putting students in leadership roles, they make the calls, arrange the facilities, organize the activities and take responsibility for the projects,” Reaka said.

Yates, who’ll be on a team in Eastman, Ga., has been the coordinator for all eight trips. She’s made the contacts with the Habitat International as well as local Habitat affiliates and made arrangements for the spring break work. The WKU students will be among more than 11,000 participants nationwide who spend one week working with a local affiliate, local community and partner families to help eliminate poverty housing.

“Once you go, you’ll want to go back because you just love the experience,” Yates said. “We’re hoping it’ll grow even more next year.”

Job tasks will vary by the needs of the local affiliate and may include building homes, making repairs, or doing other work like roofing, painting or landscaping. At the end of each day, the WKU team members will spend time discussing that day’s work and what they’ve experienced, Reaka said.

“Last year’s trip really opened my eyes,” Yates said. “I saw a different way of helping people. When you work together all day, you get close to people. You lean on people. You depend on people. You get to know people.”

More information about the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity is available online at http://www.wku.edu/habitat/

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Bryan Reaka at (270) 745-7032.