MCCC Student Spends Spring Break Building a Home

Many college students will be sharing how much fun they had over the recent spring break, however, not all can say they had fun and helped build a home for deserving families.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Kelly Tascarella, Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) student, said. “You get to make a difference, and it’s an experience you’ll never forget.”

Tascarella, 19, went with over 20 other MCCC students and advisors on a trip to West Virginia, during the week of March 13, where they volunteered their spring break for Habitat for Humanity.

The MCCC team joined with teams from Harvard University, Manchester Community College and University of Illinois Urbana Champagne for the home-building project.

Tascarella, 19, studies Criminal Justice at MCCC. As a three-year volunteer firefighter with Fort Washington Fire Company, Tascarella said she has always has always wanted to volunteer, and said she was grateful that her college offers the opportunity.

Last year, she also spent her spring break volunteering with MCCC at a Habitat for Humanity site in Texas.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I wanted to do it again,” Tascarella said. “This is something the college is very proud of.”

According to an MCCC blog about the Alternative Spring Break experience, this year marks the college’s seventh ASB trip.

“The students’ enthusiasm to participate in this experience and their willingness to help others is inspiring,” wrote Diane VanDyke, MCCC Public Relations Coordinator and an advisor on the trip.

The students came from diverse backgrounds, including those studying nursing, education and mathmatics. Many wrote that the trip represented the first time they had made such a trip so far away from their homes, and all expressed excitement at the opportunity to help others.

Tascarella said the MCCC ASB team took the six-hour car ride from the college’s Blue Bell campus to the West Virginia Habitat site, and were eager to get to work. However, weather conditions were not particularly accommodating.

“We missed one full day of work, because of the snow,” Tascarella said.

Other MCCC team members wrote on the ASB blog that the temperatures dipped down to the mid-low 20s, and factored in the wind chill.

Despite the weather, Tascarella said that the different teams were in high spirits throughout the week, often staying up late in the Habitat for Humanity cabin in the West Virginia woods, sharing their experiences of the workday.

She said that the workday started at 8 a.m., where the teams met with Habitat site supervisors for the day’s duties. Such duties were of what may be expected during construction, consisting of wood-cutting, painting and the use of power tools.

Tascarella, having experience with construction projects through her father, was able to help with molding around the house.

The property itself will help house three local families.

During the week, the Habitat teams were able to meet the families, and even play with their children, through a meet-and-greet dinner.

It’s likely that this year would be the last year Tascarella will be able to volunteer in an MCCC ASB trip, however, she encourages her classmates and future MCCC students to apply for future volunteer opportunities that will positively affect future generations.

“Looking back at the difference we made, it’s great to see that the kids will be growing up in a different environment,“ Tascarella said. “It makes you feel good about yourself, helping others.”

Tascarella added that her volunteering days are far from over, and plans on seeking out local Habitat for Humanity opportunities.

To read more about the MCCC 2013 ASB trip, visit the college’s ASB blog.