Building on Break

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For most students, working construction all day and sleeping on a floor all night isn't the ideal spring break. But that's exactly how senior Tony Teuscher and junior Lindsey Stuck spent their vacations, and neither have regrets. \nThe two helped build Habitat for Humanity houses in northeast Washington D.C., as part of a 10-student team through the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.\n"I'd done a lot of community service before, through my high school or my fraternity, but this is the first time I've ever actually gone somewhere to devote an entire week to something where I'm not getting paid," Teuscher said. "I'm kind of glad I didn't go to Palm Springs or Panama City Beach or something like that because it's so crowded. Here, I get to see how people really live and really get involved."\nThe team, comprised of students from across the country, worked all day Tuesday through Friday painting, drywalling, framing, hammering, nailing and any other construction task needed. At night, they slept -- on the floor -- at First Baptist Church in the middle of downtown D.C.\nThe construction is an ongoing project by different teams of students each week and real construction workers. By the end of the week, one house was completely finished and another was receiving its final touches. Another of the houses the team worked on was transformed during the week from just a concrete foundation to a complete wooden frame of the lower level.\nUltimately, the project will build 53 houses for low income families during a five-year span.\nHabitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization which battles poverty housing and homelessness. The group has built more than 150,000 houses around the world, providing shelter for more than 750,000 people, according to its Web site. It was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller.\nDiane Wood, director of scholar relations for NSCS, said she was impressed with the work the student volunteers contributed during the week.\n"Some people are all about doing something a little more meaningful for their spring break," Wood said. "This is pretty remarkable, seeing the walls raise and the houses actually starting to take shape. And, it's even more exciting seeing everybody here together."\nTeuscher and Stuck, who is executive vice president of the IU chapter of NSCS, said they were impressed that, regardless of skill level or experience, anyone could make a difference. Teuscher, who had some construction experience, worked framing and drywalling, while Stuck, who had no experience, insulated and built closets and cabinets, among other tasks.\nBut the week wasn't all work. Getting off at 4 p.m. each day gave the team the opportunity to spend evenings together as tourists. They visited the Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian and the top of the Washington Monument, in addition to just sightseeing around the city.\n"We had all evening to do what we want, so it's not too bad," Stuck said. "And we're right in the middle of D.C., so there was lots to do."\nTeuscher sampled the bar scene in Georgetown one night, but said it wasn't too different from Bloomington.\n"I'd say really similar actually," he said. "It's just a college-town atmosphere, I guess. Kind of quaint."\nTeuscher and Stuck agreed the week was a rewarding experience. \n"These houses will be here 30 or 40 years from now," Teuscher said. "Someone will still be living in them and I'll know I helped do that."\nThe first two houses were already completed and families had already moved in with kids' bikes chained outside by Friday. Stuck said seeing the impact the work made on real families made the week worthwhile.\n"(Thursday), we were leaving and there was this little boy in the second house that was built," she said. "He was like 'Hey' from the porch and 'Can you unlock the door for me?' because he was too short to reach the handle. He had his key, so I went up and unlocked it for him. And just seeing the house that was finished with furniture and this little boy living there coming home from school. To me, that's awesome."\n-- Contact campus editor Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.