We had an early morning starting at 6:30 AM. As a fun ice breaker to begin the day, we submitted questions anonymously to our chaperones to learn more about them and significant points throughout their lives. After some hearty breakfast to fuel us for the rigorous day, we headed over to a Habitat for Humanity site.
Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity
Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing affordable housing to those in need. Once we arrived, we were split into groups to conquer different tasks around the neighborhood. Some of the groups worked on building stairs, structures, and sheds, while others worked on installing various things such as doorknobs and plumbing. One of our students, Jack, who worked on building a new set of stairs said:
“Math with Yash has never been more fun!… We used our mathematical skills and applied them to construction!”
Other students, like Ava, who worked on smaller jobs like sweeping said:
“Even small jobs like sweeping go a long way, even though they seem insignificant these steps are crucial to the overall mission.”
Throughout the day, we took breaks and were able to regroup and discuss the work were getting done with our peers and the new friends we met along the way!
DuPont State Forest
After we wrapped up our service for the day, we headed over to Dupont State Forest for a fun afternoon hike! Along the way, we stopped for a refreshing snack to recharge our bodies and minds! We hiked to a beautiful waterfall (High Falls Trail) where we stopped to take lots of pictures and even take a dip into the water to cool us off after our long day. After the hike we drove back to the hotel to eat dinner and celebrate our friend Yash’s birthday!
Wrapping Up
For dinner, we enjoyed a variety of pastas and salads from Carrabba‘s. For a birthday treat, we ate an assortment of decadent cupcakes! We discussed our takeaways from the week and reflected on our days of service. To close out the night, we broke into small groups to complete our assignments, which included writing this blog, surveys, and writing thank you notes to the donors who help fund our program, which make this trip possible! It was another fun day of service and a great way to close out our week… We can’t wait for tomorrow!
Student Authors
