During Break
March 06, 2007
Bowling
Green, Ky. - For about 50 Western Kentucky University students, next week’s spring break won’t mean a trip to a tropical beach or days of rest and relaxation away from the textbooks.
Members of the WKU Chapter of Habitat for Humanity will be traveling to four cities to work on Habitat projects, while other students will be participating in a mission trip to Mexico sponsored by the Newman Center.
“In a global society, students have a responsibility for community service,” said Bryan Reaka, assistant professor in the Department of Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences who is co-leading the mission trip to Mexico.
While civic engagement has been a focus at WKU in recent years, “many freshmen are coming in with a sense of wanting to do something in the community,” said Laura Leach, adviser to the Habitat chapter and assistant professor in the Department of Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences.
“Just the fact that students applied for these trips says something about who they are, what their values are and that they have an innate sense of generosity,” she said.
The Newman Center students will travel to Saltillo, Mexico, to assist in the San Miguel Mission and its surrounding communities. They are collecting medical supplies (aspirin, children’s non-aspirin, cough medicine, antibiotic ointment, etc.), mouthwash, toothpaste and other items for residents there.
“We will also be spending time in the communities and working on minor repairs and maintenance projects,” Reaka said.
Construction and service to others also will be the focus of trips to assist Habitat affiliates in Huntsville, Ala., Tazewell, Tenn., Bentonville, Ark., and Leland, Miss. More than 30 students, faculty and staff will be participating in the spring break projects. During winter break, more than 20 participated in projects in three cities.
Leach traveled to Tazewell, Tenn., during winter break and will be leading the spring break trip to Huntsville, Ala. “It was truly an amazing six days and I’m really looking forward to the spring break trip,” she said.
Leach also is pleased that the spring break trips will include eight international students.
“We have a pretty unique group that has decided they want to be part of something that’s not about themselves,” she said. “It’s been a phenomenal experience.”
The students, faculty and staff making the spring break trips include the following:
Mexico mission trip: Jacob Vervynckt of Plymouth City, Ind.; Jessica Whelan of Evansville, Ind.; Rachel Thomason of Old Hickory, Tenn.; Sara Medley of Lebanon, Ky.; Stephanie Greer of Sturgis, Ky.; Christopher Leachman of Campbellsville, Ky.; Ellen Hagan of Eugene, Ore.; Emily Skees of Elizabethtown, Ky.; Chase McNulty, Sarah Hardesty, Jennifer Dooper and Margaret Tichenor, all of Owensboro, Ky.; Bryan Reaka, Sara Martter, Chris Durbin, Jim Mullin and Debby Cherwak, all of Bowling Green, Ky.
Habitat for Humanity trip to Huntsville, Ala.: team leader Laura Leach of Bowling Green, Ky.; Aaron Knapp of Dawson Springs, Ky.; Katie Knapp of Fort Knox, Ky.; Bo Pang of DaLian, China; Jauan Burbage of Paducah, Ky.; Dana Adams of Franklin, Ky.; Mai Tran and Le T. Vi, both of Danang, Vietnam.
Habitat for Humanity trip to Tazewell, Tenn.: team leader Hunter Williams of Bowling Green, Ky.; Josh Birdwell of Greenbrier, Tenn.; Trevor Dickerson of Greenbrier, Tenn.; Jonathan Moore of Frankfort, Ky.; James Heustis of Louisville, Ky.; Kristen Clark of Lexington, Ky.; Cameron Wengrzyn of Loveland, Ohio; Leslie Abell of Owensboro, Ky.
Habitat for Humanity trip to Bentonville, Ark.: team leader Julia Wiard of Bowling Green, Ky.; Jessica Tinnell of Louisville, Ky.; Leslie Jordan of Florence, Ky.; Joe Compton of Lincoln City, Ind.; Kody Stover of Gallatin, Tenn.; Katie Johnson, Brandon Lucas and Hoang Nguyen, all of Bowling Green, Ky.; Sergei Bogatchev of Nashville, Tenn.
Habitat for Humanity trip to Leland, Miss.: team leader Rachel Longest of Bowling Green, Ky.; Kimberlee Robinson of Nashville, Tenn.; Quenest Harrington of Louisville, Ky.; Kris Childers of Winston-Salem, N.C.; Sandeep Mishra and Herpreet Thind, both of Bowling Green, Ky.; Haitao Yu of China.
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 Laura Leach at (270) 745-7083 or Bryan Reaka at (270) 745-7032.
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