While many students were returning home over spring break, 16 Macalester students spent their week off building a new home instead. Put on by Mac’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity (HFH), the seven-day trip to Tahlequah, Oklahoma aimed to help construct a new home in the diverse, relatively poor rural town.

“We went from just the blank concrete that’s the base of the house, then we raised the exterior walls and all the interior walls,” said Alysha Alloway ’17 of the group’s efforts, which were joined by a similar group from the University of Iowa. “That’s what we did in a week, which was pretty cool.”

Despite the major results, initially, according to Alloway, the construction wasn’t quite on track.

“Most of us had no experience. At the beginning of the week, there were a lot of nails coming out of boards, because we messed up a lot.”

The group interacted with the beneficiaries of their house, a couple with three daughters, which they found rewarding.

“Most of the time when I volunteer for one day, sometimes you get to meet the family, sometimes you don’t, you don’t always connect with them,” Alloway said. “It was cool to hear her story and what this house meant to her.”

Seeing the house was meaningful in another way.

“It was really nice to have a tangible result of volunteering, which is why I like Habitat, because you can really see what you’re doing and how you’re helping people,” Alloway said.

And in the end, the trip built more than just a house, they built friendships.

“The group did get close over the trip,” said longtime HFH volunteer and group leader Nolberto Zubia ’14. “I credit the long chats while framing the house, seeing who could sing along best with T. Swift, or the endless dinner conversations.”