Students from Wisconsin help with Faith Build site for Habitat
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on January 19, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Freshman Abby Byrne, left, and senior Emily Smith from Marquette University work on the roof of a Habitat for Humanity build on National Drive during a winter break trip with their university's chapter of Habitat.
The cold snap does not faze Tracy Flood.
She wears a light jacket to ward off the wind, talking with her friends about going to the beach during the week.
Tracy is a sophomore at Marquette University. Compared to the Wisconsin winter, she said North Carolina sounded warm.
She spent a week working on a Habitat for Humanity build with 14 other Marquette students. The students worked on the Faith Build site for Takesha Greene.
This was Tracy's second build -- she joked that she was still learning how to hammer correctly. She is part of the Marquette Habitat for Humanity chapter.
She helped put up the insulation. A fear of heights kept her from the roofing.
Her favorite part of a build is seeing the progress made each day.
"None of the blue (insulation) was up when we started this morning," she said.
The group was staying at The Lord's Table Church during their visit and showering at the Family Y. They built from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. and Friday was their last day building.
The teen center at the church has TVs and couches for when the group leaves the construction site in the afternoons. The other time off they spent exploring.
The students returned to class on Jan. 12.
"We have a long break," Tracy said. "I had plenty of time to see my friends and family. I wanted to serve others instead of watching TV."
The students arrived in Goldsboro at 2 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5, after getting lost a few times. They traveled by a fleet of three mini-vans.
Sophomore Elias Vareldzis was not tired by the trip though. He said he was ready to get started. It was his first build.
"It's not bad," he said. "It's pretty warm."
Abby Richmond joined the club this year.
"I'm here on a whim," she said. But she said the 20-hours of car bonding had her feeling right at home.
Abby was one of the many students interested in the idea of a few trips to Bojangles for some southern biscuits.
Habitat for Humanity site manager Ray Pulley says the group was done with the insulation, the roofing, the doors and the windows had also been prepped for vinyl siding.