Staff Writer- Evangelyn Hill

Spring Break is coming up in a little over a week. This five-day break is a much-anticipated time for relaxation.

Student plans for Spring Break range from trips outside the country to heading home and spending time with family and friends. Most people are looking forward to the opportunity to relax and forget about homework. 

Not everyone is looking to just relax during Spring Break, however. Instead, some Gusties are taking the week to join Habitat for Humanity on a trip to help build houses.

Senior Rae Holwerda is the Spring Break Coordinator for Gustavus’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity. 

“Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization focused on building and repairing affordable housing for families in need. Volunteers work alongside homeowners and local communities to create safe, stable places to live,” Holwerda explained. 

“The organization’s model emphasizes partnership, service, and long-term community impact, since families help build their own homes and pay affordable mortgages.” 

This spring, Gustavus students are going to two locations: Amarillo, Texas, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. Volunteers will be helping build houses, as well as working in the local Habitat ReStore, where Habitat sells donated items to fundraise for housing projects. 

Even short Spring Break trips such as this can have a huge impact on the volunteers and the people they’re serving. 

“I went on the fall break trip last semester to Crow River, South Dakota, and I loved the experience. One thing I really value about Habitat for Humanity trips is that you can see the positive impact you’re having on the community right away. The work feels meaningful because you know it’s directly helping people,” Holwerda said.

The Crow River trip didn’t just affect the community being served, but also changed how the volunteers saw that community. 

“We had opportunities to listen and learn about the Dakota community, their culture, and the lasting effects colonization has had on their people,” Holwerda explained. 

“One moment that really stayed with me was when a community member talked about “the book,” referring to the history books many of us learned from in school, and explained how those stories often felt incomplete or untrue from their perspective. That conversation challenged me to think more critically about the histories we learn and whose voices are represented.”

Other students this Spring Break are headed on another Gustie trip, this one to Arkansas. The Recreation Program at Gustavus is hosting a hiking trip to Ozark National Forest, Hot Springs, and Buffalo National River.

The group will spend a week exploring the forest’s hiking trails and enjoying the spring weather. 

Not everyone has definite plans for Spring Break, however. Sophomore Elyana Jones is simply looking forward to relaxation. 

“The thing I am most looking forward to is not having to do school… and just hanging out with family and friends, just chilling,” Jones said. 

Jones, like many other students across campus, is hoping to read, play video games, spend time with loved ones, and forget about homework for a week. 

Senior Yee Choua Thao is in the same boat: “I’m really looking forward to actually having a break, since usually for my breaks I’m usually partially working. But as a senior, this is my last break essentially. So I set a rule to not work over the break, whether that’s catching a shift at the post office… or working an off-campus job.”

Her favorite Spring Break activity? “This is the most college answer… but just sleeping. I don’t do much for my Spring Break, usually, I just go home and chill with my family,” Choua Thao said.

Not every Spring Break experience ends up being quite so relaxing. Sophomore Hailey Mueller went to the Dominican Republic during her senior year of high school—an exciting trip, as it was her first time out of the country. 

“The first day we got there the UV was eleven, and we didn’t have sunscreen, so I was literally cooked,” Mueller said. “I think I did get sun sickness or sun poisoning one day. But other than that, it was great.”

Whether you’ll be volunteering, camping, traveling, or simply putting up your feet and relaxing, have a fun, safe, and restful Spring Break, Gusties!