Eight UW-Superior students spent their spring break in Montana helping build two houses for Habitat for Humanity. Joe Cadotte reports.

UWS senior Kathryn Quiram of Andover, Minnesota says when they got to Montana the houses were behind schedule. But the students got things back on track.

“When we got there, one of the houses was pretty much bare bones, just the frame up with a little bit of sheet rock on the ceiling. The other house was just pretty much bare bones. By the end we got, I’m pretty sure, like 99% of the sheet rocking done, maybe 100% in one of the houses. If I would’ve taken pictures before and after there was obviously a dramatic difference.”

The students paid their own way, spending their days working on houses and nights sleeping on cots at a local church. Quiram and UWS freshman Aaron Wainman of Blaine, Minnesota say their favorite part of the trip were the kids of the family moving into one of the houses.

“The kids were the cutest things. Seeing them in their rooms was probably the best part of the whole thing, it just put a huge smile on my face.”

Quiram agrees. “It’s great to see the faces. It’s great to know that those kids are going to be sleeping in those rooms that we helped build. Obviously it makes you feel good to know that you contributed a little bit to their future, to their home, it’s great. Especially after seeing them I felt like a worked a little harder and do things a little bit better and with a little more thought.”

The UWS campus volunteer group hopes to send another group of students to Montana during the summer to work on some more houses for Habitat for Humanity.

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