Collegiate Challenge 2018

March 16th
Today we went to the Rescue Mission and got to explore Tacoma. At the rescue mission we helped make lunch, and prepped for dinner and the next day’s breakfast. This included chopping a lot of onions, Cayley making 100 grilled cheeses, and Cayley and Charlie serving lunch to around 40 people that live and work at the Rescue Mission. This was extremely different from the rest of the week in which we did a lot of construction work.
After we volunteered and ate lunch we went to Point Defiance Park and explored. First we went to The Living History Museum which is a model of Fort Nisqually. This was very cool! We then went to Owen’s Beach which was awesome because we got a beautiful view of the Sound, and saw our fair share of dogs. This was quite relaxing in comparison to the rest of the week and gave us a very different perspective of Tacoma.
After this we went to a local restaurant and had a cool send off party that Habitat threw for us. It was awesome to see how thankful Habitat was for our service throughout this immersion.

Charlie

March 15, 2018

It was an odd feeling, knowing it was our last day on site. It felt as if we had just started working when we rolled up to the work site for the last time. The majority of our crew was put to work on lot 1, which is the house that is being dedicated on Saturday, so it was pretty important to finish that house up. I’m still in awe of how much Habitat does. Looking around the site, from a nearly finished house to one with its bones barely in place, it really put into perspective how much Habitat does. Beyond the houses, the people I met on site and talked with made this immersion so much more. I find myself already missing the friendly faces of those who helped us, taught us, and fed us throughout this week, and their energy and spirit are things that I hope to carry with me even after we return to Portland. Although I can only really speak for myself, I think that everyone feels a bit of sadness now that our time with Habitat has officially come to an end. Our community in this immersion has definitely grown together and I am forever grateful for this time together. Moving forward, this week has taught me to value the people that surround me and to take pride in my community. I am a little sad that this time has come to an end, but it has given me the tools to move forward in my everyday life to continue to work in my community.

-Genevieve

Today was our second day on site.

Most of us spent the day working on the one house (out of 7 that are on site) that is supposed to be finished this Saturday. All of the boys except Jumel were able to go on the roof today – which was definitely a highlight for them. 

Overall, today was a very joy-filled day. Everyone has been laughing throughout the day and we’ve been able to have fun, while also continuing to make progress on the houses.

Our group as a whole was starting to connect and develop a real sense of teamwork. We also started to get more comfortable with the workers on site. We all have been enjoying our experience with Habitat and have noticed the hospitality that they have shown us.

I know that we have been making a contribution, but to me the work that I’m doing seems very small in comparison to the entirety of effort and work that goes into building a house. However, all of the workers and the people from the Habitat community have expressed their genuine appreciation for the time we are giving to help build these homes.

It definitely puts things into perspective – something that seems so insignificant to me, may make immeasurable differences to other people.

In case people were curious – after our work day is over, we hit the showers then headed back to Bethlehem Lutheran Church, where we have been privileged to stay while on the Collegiate Challenge.

We had some dinner (tonight we had more than plenty of pasta) and generally play a lot of card games – which can get competitive from time to time. The games have served as a great community builder and have resulted in numerous laughs.

Cayley

Today was our first day onsite with Habitat for Humanity at North Tillicum. We all showed up eager and excited to start working on a new house, or as we found out today, houses. We met our leader Nick and he showed us around a lot of seven different houses, which was so cool because each is currently at a different stage in construction.

Gen and Charlie got to do electrical work while the rest of us helped clean up and move materials around the lot. A big group of us learned to set up scaffolding!! We were hoping to paint, but a bit of that Pacific Northwest weather got to us and the rain prevented us from doing so.

The highlight of the day was meeting our crew and the people who provided our lunch for us. Two workers are AmeriCorps volunteers, which definitely sparked some interest in a couple members of our team today for post-grad plans. Some folks from the neighborhood put together the kindest spread of soups, sandwiches and so much more for us today. No one left without being stuffed to the brim.

We also had the pleasure of meeting a Habitat homeowner named Becca who shared a bit of her story with us. These people helped remind us that the work we are doing, no matter how big or small, is making a difference in someone’s life.

Overall, today has me very excited for the rest of the week. We bonded so much as a group today and met so many wonderful people that I know everyone is looking forward to getting up early and working hard these next few days. North Tillicum is going to look very different in a couple of months.

Erin

Today was a great day up in Tacoma. We started our day learning more about HFH and all the awesome things they do, as well as talking about the things we wanted to take away from this trip with our new friends Kiara.

Next, we headed out with our other new found friend Dan to Tiger Mountain to hike the Poo Poo Trail (Yes, that is the name!). Despite almost not finding a parking spot, we set off to the summit. At the top awaited a breathtaking view of Mount Rainer as well as an overlook over the city of Issaquah and Bellevue.

After completing the trek down, and counting up the total of 47 doggos that we saw along the trail, we headed off to the showers to get cleaned up.

Taking a slight detour after the showers, one of the vans made a pit stop at Safeway to get a surprise birthday cake for Laurie’s birthday. We celebrated Laurie’s birthday, had an amazing dinner, and reflected as a group on how our day went, as well as what we were looking forward to tomorrow. We are excited for our first day on the worksite tomorrow!

Isaac