By Shana Tachikawa
s-tachikawa@onu.edu
While most students enjoyed spring break’s rest and relaxation, Ohio Northern’s Habitat for Humanity was hard at work in Biloxi, Mississippi. Thirty-one students participated in the seven-day mission trip, helping build homes in areas destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Throughout the week, Habitat remained busy. On the first day, participants worked with a local organization on exterior beautification work. For the remainder of the week, students worked on two different building sites. The first site started as a mere subfloor. By the end of the week, the home had walls and outer sheathing. At the other site, the home’s walls were already constructed, so workers added sheathing, tresses, and roof sheeting. While volunteering, students were able to work with a partner family from the area.
“It was really great for the family because we were building a home in their own neighborhood,” said junior language arts education major Jenny Pelton. “It’s the same neighborhood that had so easily been         destroyed by Katrina.”
As Habitat for Humanity’s current vice president and spring break trip coordinator, Pelton also served as the Biloxi trip leader. Though in her third year, Pelton maintains the same mindset that drove her to join Habitat as a freshman.
“Habitat is an active, welcoming group. I didn’t know what to expect my first year, but it soon became my favorite activity at ONU,” Pelton said. “We’re a group of people who find service important and are able to witness neighborhoods coming together.”
Junior civil engineering major Karin Irwin is also a three-year participant. Though she has been on past trips, Irwin was ready to meet new volunteers.
“Going into the trip, I was excited to travel to a different place, but I only knew a third of the group,” Irwin said. “Coming back, we all are friends, sharing the trip as a common bond.”
Unlike Irwin, for Cory Peeples, a freshman nursing major, Biloxi served as his first Habitat trip. Going into the trip, Peeples felt prepared for the labor.
“Over the summer, I did some construction work, so I was somewhat prepared. I like doing a lot of hands-on work,” Peeples said. “We came together well as a team, working really hard throughout the day for the thought of helping people.”
Working hard is no understatement for the Biloxi trip. Staying at Camp Victor, volunteers had a rigorous schedule. The group awoke at 6 a.m., packed lunches at 6:30, ate breakfast at 7, and departed for the work site by 7:30. Volunteers worked from 8a.m. until 4p.m. with a break in between for lunch. At 6p.m. the group ate dinner and held a devotional at 8 p.m. At devotionals, students sang songs, prayed, and shared thoughts through Roses and Thorns. During this activity, group members went around a circle sharing a favorite aspect of the day as a “rose” and a negative aspect as a “thorn.”
“The devotional was a really good way to get to know the group and what everyone was thinking,” Irwin said. “It was our way to relax and wind down at the end of the day.”
Though the days were tiring, the work was well worth the effort.
“Just the thought of the laughs, friendships, and memories we shared was enough to drown out any negatives of the day,” Peeples said.
Noting their achievements from the past week, it was difficult for the students to leave Biloxi.
“It was bittersweet leaving the site that we worked on for an entire week,” Pelton said. “We achieved so much in the house, as well as in bonding as a group. I’m so happy with the memories we’ve made, and I hope next year will be just as amazing.”