Though her luggage was temporarily lost, Karoline Lucas found something far more meaningful on a recent trip to South Carolina \u2014 community.<\/p>\n
During the Winter Reading Week, Lucas took part in Brock University\u2019s Alternative Reading Week trip to Sumter, S.C., where a team of students and staff assisted in a Habitat for Humanity building project.<\/p>\n
In spite of her luggage not arriving until the second-last day of the trip, the 21-year-old Concurrent Education student said the experience was transformative and provided a litany of valuable lessons and new friendships.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe learned not only how to build a house and use different tools but also how to work with other people and the importance of volunteering,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Having sent teams to Sumter for seven years, Brock\u2019s presence in the community is well-established. Lucas, or \u201cCarolina with a K,\u201d as local residents liked to call her, was astonished by the hospitality and appreciation shown to the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe community provided our meals and gave us places to sleep and have our meetings,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were incredibly generous and always encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas and her team members framed a new building when the weather was clear while also learning how to hang doors, lay flooring and paint walls when the rain arrived.<\/p>\n
But it was meeting the family who would occupy the home the Brock team was building that made Lucas pause to reflect on the greater impact of her actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a single mom and her two-year-old son,\u201d she said. \u201cTo meet them and hear their story was really impactful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Megan Brown, Brock\u2019s Community Engagement Co-ordinator, has taken part in three Sumter trips and said the partnership gets stronger each winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have built such a strong relationship and partnership with Habitat for Humanity in Sumter that they have become like family,\u201d she said. \u201cThey go above and beyond to welcome us, and some volunteers told us they feel like Brock alumni, since they are still wearing the sunglasses or shirts we brought for them in past years.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the new friendships and skills the team was developing, Brown said the week on the building site also connected to many of the skills the University hopes students will leave Brock with.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter understanding a community that is not their own, facilitating group activities and being adaptable to work in a new environment that does not come naturally will all serve them well as they begin their careers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Lucas said the building project also related directly to a specific cornerstone of her studies in Education and Brock\u2019s learning model in general.\u00a0\u00a0.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Concurrent Education, we talk a lot about experiential learning,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to read about something like Habitat for Humanity, but until you are actually there, you can\u2019t truly appreciate the effort and camaraderie that come with this project and the human interaction it provides.\u201d<\/p>\n
While already planning to go on the trip again next year, Lucas hopes other students will consider joining her to continue Brock\u2019s ongoing legacy in a place that quickly came to feel like home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great way to get involved, go somewhere new and give back to someone in such a monumental way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
To learn more about Brock\u2019s Alternative Reading Week options, visit the Student Life Involvement Commons in MCA 204 or email community@brocku.ca<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t