For Brooke Barnes of the University of Virginia, spring break is about community and collaboration.
Last year, she went on an Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trip to Hilton Head in South Carolina to work with a Habitat affiliate as a way of meeting other students.
“In my first year,” she says of her decision to do a 2022 ASB trip, “I wanted to make new friends. Alternative Spring Break gave me an outlet to meet people while also doing good. I got to work on a Habitat house while bonding with new people and making lifelong friends.”
After making deep friendships on her trip, she knew she had to continue that tradition this year. She signed up to help organize the 2023 trip to volunteer with New Orleans Habitat. The trip has been another bonding experience. “We’ve only known each other for maybe a week, but I know so much about them. It just makes it easier to collaborate when you understand people on an individual level, and that’s so important out here, getting to collaborate with people you don’t know to get something done.”
The trip is her first time in New Orleans, and like many students who volunteer for their spring breaks, she and the other students have found time to see some sights as well.
“I value Southern hospitality while traveling in places like this,” she said. “There’s such a sense of community here. It made our trip so much better. People are always willing to educate you about the culture and give you recommendations on what to visit. I feel really welcome here.”
Though her father is a contractor, Brooke says she realized once she got on site that she didn’t know as much as she thought she did. Her time on the build site was a learning experience – and a chance for personal growth. “If you don’t have a lot of experience with carpentry work, once you see the aftermath of your work, the self-doubt goes away and you feel like you can do more than when you started. I have improved so much with my basic skills, and I feel like I got stronger this week. And you see personal growth in yourself, too. You don’t let the heat stop you. You know it’s important to finish the goal before you.”
In the week Brooke was on site, she and her new friends helped start two new homes in the Lower Ninth Ward. The homes will be finished in a few months, but Brooke has seen the impact of her work already.
“Between the start and finish when you’re hammering, your arm gets tired, but once you get that nail in, there’s such a feeling of accomplishment.”
