Falcon Athletics Gives Back
On the road with UWRF student-athletes
3/31/2019
As promised we have one final entry for the trip. We have some fun facts and everyone is sharing their favorite thing about the trip and something they learned along the way.
So, what were some fun facts?
8 - total number of days we were on the road
2153 - total number of miles driven by Blackcat 1 and Blackcat 2 (shout out to front seat copilots Kora and Chaz who helped the drivers communicate)
25.2 - MPGs from River Falls to Longmont
22.5 - MPGs from Longmont to River Falls (thanks a lot 25 MPH winds)
14 - number of hotel beds slept in
8:31 AM - average departure time to head to the Lyons job site
6:01 AM - average wake-up time for Kellen every work day
7:51 AM - average wake-up time for everyone else
269 - number of jokes Madi told (this number could be higher)
7 - number of times Erica filled up her gallon water jug
102 - number of items Claire smelled to guess who had touched what item
100 - percentage of correct answers from Claire about who had touched the item she selected (still amazing)
2,031 - number of songs on Hailey Herdine’s phone (this number could also be higher)
15 - number of episodes Hailey Huseth was able to watch of Jane the Virgin
5 - number of ladders Mallory used to scale the front porches on the homes to make sure the front porches were completely painted
1,813 - number of brush strokes Kathryn probably made with her tiny brush touching up the porches (talk about patience)
But in all seriousness, we had a great time and learned a lot along the way both from the people we met and from each other. Here are the final thoughts from the passengers of Blackcat 1 and Blackcat 2 and thank you to all who kept up with this blog and those who supported us on the trip.
“The best part of the trip was having the opportunity to work on the duplexes for people that needed them while also getting closer to the others that come on the trip. I learned to step more out of my comfort zone and put myself out there. It’s also nice to know how to drywall a house now.” ~ Chaz Olson
“The best part of the trip was being able to actively help make a change in people’s lives. Something I learned on the trip was everyone has a different story and you may not realize those who need help.” ~ Mallory Griffin
“The best part of the trip was being able to help others in need by doing something that I had never done before. It was a really cool experience to help build a home and learn more about the Longmont community. I learned that the climate in Colorado can change drastically the further up in elevation that you go.” ~ Hailey Huseth
“My favorite of the trip were the nights when we all hung out around the table and played cards. Something that I learned on this trip was how to shoot the air rifle at the University of Nebraska.” ~ Claire Mattson
“The best part of the trip was the group I went with. No matter what we were doing, I had a blast. From working on the houses to hiking to shopping and everything else in between, it was a great experience with an even better group of people. I learned that even the smallest contributions make a huge impact in the end.” ~ Kora Torkelson
“The best part of the trip was the group I got to be with. I had fun with whatever we were doing, even if that was hanging out at home playing cards or building the house together! Also this trip helped me realize how important the little things are and to appreciate the people I had around me the whole trip. Something I learned was that something little goes a long way when we were building the house.” ~ Hailey Herdine
“My favorite part of the trip was getting to know more about and spend time with the student-athletes. It was fun to see them in a setting where they could relax, be themselves and just have fun with each other. I learned a lot about planning this trip and how I can hopefully help put together another unique experience like this in the future for more of our Falcon student-athletes.” ~ Kellen Wells-Mangold
“I had a fun time getting to better know some student-athletes from other teams on campus while helping others to have a place to live. It was a great experience that I would recommend to anyone interested.” ~ Madi Nolan
“I loved every part of this trip. From the travel and sightseeing to working on the homes to meeting new people and being part of something bigger. I learned skills and made more friendships. I am thankful for the opportunity and would do it again!” ~ Kathryn Larson
“The best part of the trip was learning what an impact the work we did will have on local residents. Even small things such as sorting clothes or observing property will have a huge impact on the local community. The students and myself were really invested in the work and got a lot out of it.” ~ Chantel Flegler
“The best part about the trip was getting the opportunity to get to know everyone on the trip better. Some of the best parts was getting home eating dinner and then just sitting around the table playing card games or watch Claire do her “magic.” Everyone on the trip got along great so that made it even more enjoyable. Something that I learned on this trip was more about Habitat for Humanity program. I didn’t know that this program existed all over the place and that they are always wanting help. I will definitely be doing another trip like this in the future. I also learned how to put up drywall, so now I have a new skill set.” ~ Erica Schramel
And with that, this is Blackcat 1 and Blackcat 2 signing off.
Oh… and Go Falcons!
3/30/2019
We’re home! Blackcat 1 and Blackcat 2 arrived in River Falls this afternoon and everyone has been delivered safely back to their homes. We got a start on our drive at 6 a.m. and let me tell you, there wasn’t much to see. Literally.
A huge thank you and shout out to the Nebraska Department of Transportation for clearing the roads of all the snow, slush and ice. Waking up early caused most of our passengers to go back to sleep which was fine since it would have been hard to hear any conversation over the howling wind that blew our vans around. Wind gusts of 20–25 MPH made what should have been an easy drive into a workout for Chantel and Kellen.
Still, we made it back with little to really report about. We’re all thankful to be sleeping in our own beds tonight but a little bummed the trip we waited so long for has come to an end.
This entry is short but isn’t the last. Check back for one more as we wrap things up with fun facts about the trip and some final thoughts.
Good night!
3/29/2019
Our final day of work in Lyons is over and we’ve already hit the road to return to River Falls. A lot happened from the early morning clean-a-thon to the mini snow storm we hit in Nebraska. Let’s get to it so we can get some sleep!
Today would be our final day in the mission house and we needed to get everything sparkly clean for the next group of volunteers that may come in after us. It meant stripping the beds and putting the sheets in the washer, vacuuming the carpets, cleaning all the dishes, clearing our food out from the fridge, and loading our stuff back into Blackcat 1 and Blackcat 2. We got it all done and made it back to the job site in plenty of time.
It was rainy in Lyons this morning, so what task might we be able to complete? DRYWALL! Everyone was pretty excited to be able to work on the drywall project. Some had never done it before, but everyone picked up on it pretty quickly. Madi and Kellen might have been the most excited to get back and finish the projects they had started on Wednesday. Our site leaders for the day were Delaney and Mitch, who were patient and awesome.
4 p.m. came fast and it was time to clean up. We gave our mosaics to the habitat crew to hand out to the families as they move in. The same owner working on the homes yesterday was there and thanked us again for coming all the way out. He said it helped to have such a large group to make big gains in just a few short days. We wished him well and hope he gets to move into his new home with his family sooner than later. Our goodbyes were said, we piled into Blackcat 1 and Blackcat 2, and off we went.
The start of our drive was cloudy with a little bit of drizzle.
The drizzle turned into rain, which turned into sleet, and then finally snow. It started coming down pretty good about an hour from our hotel in North Platte, Neb., but we would not be deterred. We slowed our speed and reached our destination at 10 p.m. We lost an hour coming back into the central time zone, so it just felt like 9 p.m. to us.
A little before North Platte, Chaz did our travel party a solid and ordered pizzas, happily using Kellen’s credit card, of course. Timing was just about right as the pizzas showed up just as we were checking in but didn’t last long.
The last day of our trip is tomorrow and we hope to arrive back in River Falls in the late afternoon/early evening. Everyone is looking forward to sleeping in their own beds, but we need a good night's sleep tonight as well. For tomorrow, all the cows and horses must be claimed again.
3/28/2019
What a day of… painting! The primary focus of our day was working hard to finish painting the outside of two homes that are set to be dedicated to their new owners next weekend. There was a lot of work to be done and they put all but three members of our team on the job.
We got our hard hats on and listened for our orders from our crew leaders of the day, Geoff and Delaney. Kora, Claire and Hailey Huseth were sent back inside the homes to do touch up work on the walls and doors, while the remainder of our crew worked outside to wrap up the majority of the paint work left.
The morning went by fast and before we knew it, lunch was being delivered to us. A local minister of a church in Lyons and her four children delivered a full taco bar to our crew and it was delicious. They were interested to know how we came to be in Colorado and the kids, being kids, asked almost every question they could possibly think of. We were really appreciative of the meal and the break, but soon it was back to work. Those houses weren’t going to paint themselves.
Today we had the chance to work alongside one of the owners of a home that will be finished later this summer. Each owner of a habitat home is required to put in 250–500 hours of “sweat equity” as part of their deal. He shared with us that he was a graphic designer, a husband, and a father of three. He was also impacted by the flood and is eager to get into his own home later this year. He thought it was really neat that he gets to work with such a diverse range of people on a project like this.
The afternoon involved more painting and eventually we all ended up working on one porch. It became a challenge to try and navigate through the series of ladders and paint cups while trying not to bump anyone.
We wrapped up painting and cleaning by 4 p.m. today and the homes looked great. There are probably only a few touch-ups here and there, but what major painting project doesn’t have that?
Kellen cooked dinner (again) and tonight we had spaghetti and garlic bread. We have so many random snacks and other things we probably could have eaten them, but the spaghetti was still a solid choice. After dinner, it was time to grout the mosaic housewarming gifts we had made on Tuesday. We’ll deliver them to Meghan tomorrow and she’ll be able to hand them out to the owners when they move in.
After dinner, we sat around as Kellen read trivia questions. On Thursday nights in River Falls he reads bar trivia for fun. He re-read old questions and the group had the correct answer about 20 percent of the time. Not bad for first timers.
Tonight we are packing up and cleaning the house we’ve been staying in. We’ll be back at the job site tomorrow for our last day of work. Once we’re dismissed, we’ll be heading back east to try and get some miles under us. For the members of our travel party still in college, there is homework to be done and getting home on Saturday will provide a full day on Sunday for papers and various class projects.
We’re all a little more sluggish than we were when we arrived on Monday, which means we’re getting it done during the days. Everyone is looking forward to another day at the homes tomorrow and not so much to the long drive back. Still, we are glad we’ve made the trip and appreciate the new experiences we’ve had so far.
3/27/2019
Disclaimer: This entry is going to be filled with lots of pictures. Even though that is the case, we promise we did lots of work and weren’t slacking on the job site.
Today was finally the day we had been waiting for as we got to work on the homes we had signed up for back in the fall. Blackcat 1 and Blackcat 2 traveled to the job site in Lyons this morning. We weren’t entirely certain what we would be doing, but everyone was anxious to get going.
Our crew leader, Dave, came into his position with habitat through Americorps. He gave a brief synopsis of the homes, what had been done so far, and what was still left to do.
In the photo above, homes on the far end are due to be “move-in ready” in two weeks. These homes are the main focus for eight members of our team. Dave divided the UW-River Falls contingent into three groups.
Group 1: Chaz, Erica, Hailey Herdine, Kathryn and Mallory were assigned to help finish painting and caulking the outside of the homes.
Group 2: Kora, Hailey Huseth and Claire were assigned to work on painting the interior walls and trim.
Group 3: Kellen, Chantel and Madi were assigned to work on drywall in another set of homes at the opposite end of the block.
As soon as we had our assignments, we quickly retrieved our hard hats, safety glasses, and tools needed for the day.
Photo check in with Group 1:
Photo check in with Group 2:
Photo check in with Group 3:
The morning went by fast, and before we knew it, everyone was breaking for lunch. We had one hour, which was just enough time to walk across the street to the Lyons Dairy Bar.
We were given discount vouchers to use and everyone placed their orders at the windows outside before heading inside to eat.
We returned to the site and Meghan, our site coordinator, gave a short summary of why the homes in Lyons were being built and some background on the Habitat for Humanity organization.
After learning more about the flood and habitat, we all returned to our groups to get as much done as we could for the remainder of the day. The weather was a warm 74 degrees with lots of sun. Pick up time was at 4 p.m. and we finished up shortly after 4:30 p.m.
Prior to the trip, we had been told when meals would be given to us and when we could expect to be on our own to find a restaurant or cook for ourselves. We were planning to go home and cook up spaghetti, but Kellen received a text that said Longs Peak United Methodist Church in Longmont had invited us to join them for their weekly congregational meal. Upon hearing the news, we hurried home to clean up as best we could and then made our way across town to join them.
We were warmly welcomed as we walked through the doors and were treated to a home-cooked meal of chicken cacciatore, roasted vegetables and fruit salad. The salted caramel Rice Krispy treats were also a hit. Dinner was short, but we had a chance to meet more people and learn about where they were from while sharing a little bit about ourselves and our university.
The people we meet are so interested to know that we drove from Wisconsin and that nine in our group are student-athletes. They ask about their sports, their majors and where they’re from. They asked about how this trip came about and were interested to learn about how the student-athletes are encouraged to explore things outside their sports. It’s always fun to share our story and a little bit about UW-River Falls.
Another thing we have noticed since arriving in Longmont is how appreciative people are that we made the journey here to help them with this project. They are amazed that we have chosen to spend our Spring Break giving back to others who need a boost to get back into their own home after losing theirs to a nature disaster. Everyone we have met shares how bad the flood was and we can see that the area is still trying to recover. An empty building stands adjacent to our job site and we learned that it still had water in it two years after the flood. The owner has pretty much abandoned it. In another place, you can see where homes are still damaged and badly in need of repair.
We’re tired from the day’s work, but looking forward to getting back at it again tomorrow morning. Seeing how our work can help others is really impactful and all of us are really glad we signed up for this trip.
3/26/2019
Weather was perfect, we got to help people in the area, we found our artistic sides and we got to be outside in the warm sun. Let’s get to it!
This morning was the earliest we had to wake up so far on the trip, but no one was up earlier than Kellen. He blamed it on his schedule at home with his young kids, but honestly he probably was just really excited to make coffee and cook breakfast for everyone.
The morning found us staying in Longmont to volunteer at The OUR Center. This is a place that is very similar in the services offered in River Falls at Our Neighbors’ Place. The people who work here help families who are in need in a variety of ways but are working towards getting back on their feet. At the center, we met Julie and she gave us a tour of the building and the history of how everything was built into what we saw today. She said they used to have many families who volunteered prior to the flood of 2013, but then had to rely on the center themselves to help get them back on the road to recovery.
Our task at The OUR Center was to help the staff sort and organize clothes in the Community Closet. This is a space where people who are needing clothes can come and pick out things they need to wear for work or clothes that are weather appropriate. They can also find household items they need. The staff in this area is led by Juanita who was great and got our group moving with a list of tasks we were eager to tackle. The other staff members, Wilma and Gail, guided us on places to put things we organized. We wouldn’t have accomplished as much as we did if it hadn’t been for their help.
Our primary goal was to help sort through all of the items in the back room: take clean useful clothes and items out to the closet floor for people to pick out; recycle clothes that had been picked through; and throw out anything that could not be used. They noted that they have been overwhelmed with donations from the start of the year since the Netflix series with Marie Kondo came out.
We were only at The OUR Center for three hours but the time flew by and everyone was glad we had the chance to help out. A HUGE thank you to Julie, Juanita, Wilma and Gail who made us feel so welcome.
After our morning work was done, we quickly headed back to the house to make a hodgepodge of things for lunch before jumping back in the vans to drive to Dacono, Colo.
In Dacono, we finally got the chance to meet Meghan who is our site coordinator for the Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley. Many emails and texts had been exchanged and it was nice to put a face with the name. With her was Krystal who was one of the staff members who worked for Habitat. Krystal’s afternoon project for us was to walk around to specific homes in the area and use an app to collect data on various aspects of the community. The neighborhood in Dacono was an older one and many of the structures are mobile homes in varying conditions. The reason we were collecting this data is that we were helping this Habitat group since they had been selected to take part in a nationwide study of how improvements made by Habitat can have a positive effect on the community at large. Only 10 Habitat for Humanity groups nationwide had been selected to take part in this study led by they University of North Carolina, and St. Vrain was one of them.
We split up into five groups and headed out to various addresses on maps we were given. The weather was a warm 71 degrees and sunny, which made the walk through the neighborhood comfortable.
We were given two hours to try and complete as many data collection points as we could but in the end, we didn’t even need all two hours to get all 100 data points completed. Boom! Krystal was really happy with the work we had completed so that they could move onto the next phase of the study.
After eating the delicious donuts Krystal brought us to say thank you for the help, we headed back home for dinner. Kellen cooked cheddar brats, black bean burgers, and mac and cheese for the group because his natural dad instincts had probably kicked in.
Once we were full, Blackcats 1 and 2 made one final trek for the day back downtown in Longmont to Crackpots. Our group decided to make mosaic art pieces as a housewarming gift for each of the residents who would be moving into their new Habitat homes.
Today was a great day and we’re looking forward to working on homes in Lyons, Colo., tomorrow and meeting the crew who has been leading their construction.
3/25/2019
Today’s journal is about our adventures in the area and, arguably more important, the discovery of Claire’s bizarre/amazing ability that our traveling party learned about this evening.
The morning started off with a trip to the Rocky Mountains. The straight roads and small hills gave way to tight, winding roads that led up to Rocky Mountain National Park.
Once we reached Bear Lake Trailhead, we admittedly were wholly under prepared for a hike as the trails were covered in snow and some in our group had chosen to wear shorts since the forecast in Longmont called for 60 degrees. Still, we made sure we got out and got a picture to at least say we were there.
We still wanted to hike in the great outdoors and headed back down to Estes Park where we found a trail around Lake Estes.
We were feeling adventurous and decided to take the longest route option around the entire lake.
The walk, while scenic, was quite tiring due to the elevation and even the athletes in the group were tired when we all made it back to the vans. This made the elder staff members feel a little better (but not much) about their own levels of fitness. We saw some beautiful views and encountered some of the area wildlife.
While eight of us were enjoying the views (and just trying to make it back to the vans), three in our group had adopted an item on the trail at the one mile mark and brought it along to the end with them.
Tired and hungry our attention turned to food and Mallory found a great place for us to eat in Estes Park at the Wapiti Pub. Here everyone had “dirty chips,” burgers, wraps, ooey-gooey grilled cheese sandwiches and Kraft macaroni and cheese.
After eating we toured the shops in downtown Estes Park. Purchases ranged from sweatshirts to taffy to coffee. Kellen was very thankful to have found the coffee.
After Estes Park we headed over to Boulder, Colo., to visit their pedestrian mall and the various shops that were there.
Purchases in Boulder included more shirts, chocolate dipped pretzels, truffles, and ice cream. Tired and content with the day’s activities, we all piled back into a waiting Blackcat 1 and Blackcat 2 and headed out.
While the sites of the Rockies were amazing, they were not as mind blowing for our group as was the discovery of Claire’s hidden talent. What talent you might ask? Great question.
If you were to lay out a number of items on the table, have Claire leave the room, have a random person in your group touch just one of the items with the tip of their finger, have Claire return to the room and have her smell said items she can tell you which item it is that you touched. She picks up each item, smells it, and then without hesitation tells you which one you touched.
Tonight she was 100% correct no matter how many times we set items (cell phones, playing cards, and ceramic bowls) out and no matter how many times we tried to trick her.
It. Was. A. Maze. Ing.
We’ll be heading to bed soon and tomorrow is the start of our community service and outreach work in the area. We’re looking forward to getting started with the work that brought us here and to meet members of the local community. Before heading to bed, we got in a few hands of Blackjack. Even though we didn’t have any poker chips to use, the creativity in this group knows no bounds.
3/24/2019
We arrived in Longmont! Before we get to that, let’s recap the day.
Since we had no specific time we needed to arrive in Longmont, we took our time waking up, packing, and reloading the vans and people. The one thing everyone could agree on was a trip to Krispy Kreme donuts as some in the group had never eaten one.
After everyone was sugared up, we piled back into the vans to start the trek to our house in Longmont. The view across Nebraska was pretty much like this for much of the drive…
One way the occupants of both vans were able to pass the time was playing a game called “Those are my cows.” If you have never played this game, like Kellen and Chantel had never done, we’ll give you the gist.
- Anytime you see a cow in a field, a lot, with a herd or wherever you say to the van “That’s my cow” which earns you a point and you claim that cow. If the cow is with a herd, you claim all the cows but still only get a point.
- You can also claim horses as well.
- If you pass by a cemetery that someone in the van can see, and they say “All your cows are dead,” then everyone except that person starts back over at zero.
Simple enough, right?
In Blackcat 1 (Kellen, Chaz, Mallory, Claire & Hailey Huseth), the passengers in the rear of the van had either fallen asleep, were watching movies or reading which left Chaz and Kellen to claim any barnyard animals they could see. It was quite the competition until coming out from one of the underpasses, Chaz spotted a cemetery first and in fell swoop eliminated all of the points accrued by Kellen over the course of the last 90 minutes. While frustrated, Kellen acknowledged the elimination of his fake herd and moved on to trying to reclaim all that had just been lost.
In Blackcat 2 (Chantel, Kora, Erica, Madi, Kathryn & Hailey Herdine), the entire van was awake, alert and looking for all the cows they could find. It was quite the competition until one occupant asked if the game could be paused. It is at this point the story becomes controversial depending on who you ask. The long and short of it is that the same cemetery seen by Chaz in the first van was also seen and one person wiped out all of the cows seen in the entire van, leaving some reeling from the loss. In the end, it was decided that it was better that the game be suspended for the duration of the day.
Our group finally made it to the house we will be staying at through Friday shortly after 5 p.m. MST.
The home we are staying at is a mission house owned by the church next door. They frequently have visitors who come to the area to volunteer. Inside, the house is stocked with plates, cooking utensils, etc. There are three bedrooms upstairs and one bathroom and downstairs there is a bathroom and bedroom with a bunk bed and cots available as well.
We made a quick trip to the grocery store to get what we need for breakfast, lunches while we work, and a few things for dinner as well. Tonight it was more pizza but it was a unanimous group decision.
Our day ended with everyone going outside to play night games in which all participants dressed in their darkest colored clothes to not be seen and run around freeing each other from jail while one person tries to tag whoever they can see. It took awhile for the rules to be decided upon because everyone is competitive, but once everything was settled, it was a great way to burn off the pepperoni and cheese.
Our day tomorrow is a little up in the air but we’ll be heading towards Estes Park to locate some trails that we’ll be able to (hopefully) hike on in Rocky Mountain National Park.
3/23/2019
We are officially on the road heading out to Colorado! After picking up everyone at designated locations, to ensure no parking tickets would be left on cars while we’re away, we headed out of River Falls at 8 a.m. Our transportation for this adventure are two Dodge Grand Caravans which have been dubbed “Blackcat 1” and “Blackcat 2.” Our goal was to make it to Lincoln, Neb., where we would be spending the night.
The first part of our day was spent driving straight through from River Falls to Des Moines, Iowa, for lunch. Our view out the window went from having snow in the ditches to absolutely no snow at all, though there is significant flooding that we could see in both Iowa and Nebraska. Luckily our route did not have any detours, delays, or require us to use oars to fjord the rivers.
In the restaurant, we were sat at the largest table they could find and then our group proceeded to order nearly every item on the menu, from won ton tacos, cheeseburgers, salads, boneless wings and more. Room was spared so that two additional desserts could be sampled as well.
Refueled, we pressed on to Lincoln, which is our final destination for day one.
Our hotel is the The Graduate Lincoln. The decor of the hotel is terrifically retro and the hotel rooms reflect the culture of the Midwest and the state of Nebraska.
After we all checked in and had to chance to dump our bags, we piled back into the vans to visit the athletics campus at the University of Nebraska. One of Kellen’s former student-athletes from a previous school is the head coach of the Cornhusker rifle program.
Coach Ashley McCallister took the time to welcome our Wisconsin contingent and explain the sport of rifle to everyone.
But not only did she explain the sport to us, she let everyone who wanted to fire one of the team’s air rifles to see what it was like.
After everyone had their chance to shoot a perfect score, Coach McCallister led our group on a fantastic tour of the Cornhusker athletics facilities.
One of the requests from our group was could we go down to the field. The answer was yes and it did not disappoint.
After our tour we said thank you and goodbye to coach McCallister. We were very appreciative of the time she took to meet with us and tour the facilities. We drove back to our hotel and settled on a pizza place that was just across the street. All in all, a successful first day and halfway to Longmont. We’ll see what tomorrow has in store for the occupants of Blackcat 1 and Blackcat 2.
3/22/2019
First entry contributed by Kellen Wells-Mangold, UWRF Assistant Athletics Director
In fall 2016, my first semester as assistant athletics director at UW-River Falls, I was quickly trying to learn about my new surroundings, colleagues and the student-athletes I would be serving. My role was primarily related to NCAA compliance rules and general administrative duties, but I quickly gained an interest on ways to improve upon the student-athlete experience. It was a priority in our department’s Strategic Plan and in learning about our student-athlete population at UWRF, I came to realize that giving back to the community and a sense of service was a significant belief among our teams.
It was through this understanding I had a hope that someday UWRF Athletics would be able to offer an alternative Spring Break option for our student-athletes to participate in that incorporated that sense of giving back while also providing a personal growth and development opportunity. I use the word alternative in the sense that it wouldn’t be a trip to a warm, sunny location where possibly questionable activities may occur or just to head home and sit on the couch until returning to campus to finish out the semester.
Fast forward to fall 2018 and the idea to participate in the Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge was pitched to our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Within a month, nine student-athletes across three sports and an additional staff member stepped forward and wanted to volunteer on the trip without even having a destination selected.
Our group consists of:
Myself (obviously) and Chantel Flegler, our Coordinator for Diversity, Inclusion & Student-Athlete Success, are representing the staff on the trip.
Chaz Ann Olson from women’s soccer; Mallory Griffin, Hailey Huseth, and Claire Mattson from women’s volleyball; and Madi Nolan, Erica Schramel, Kora Torkelson, Kathryn Larson, and Hailey Herdine from women’s ice hockey are our student-athletes.
When I asked some members of our travel party why they signed up for this trip, here are some of the responses I received:
“I am extremely excited for this trip! I am looking forward to helping families in need and working with some of my teammates and girls from other sports teams. I think this trip will be a great experience!” - Kora Torkelson
“I signed up for this trip because I want to give back and help families in need. I am excited about being with friends and also seeing Colorado!” - Hailey Herdine
“I signed up for this trip because it was an opportunity to help people in need. I am excited about getting to better know some other student athletes!” — Mallory Griffin
“I choose to sign up for this trip because Habitat for Humanity is something I have always wanted to do, and I can’t think of a better time to take this opportunity to help others in need. I am a little nervous for the weather once we get there but other than that I think this will be an experience unlike anything I have ever done. I hope this trip convinces me to want to do this program again, maybe in a different country!” — Erica Schramel
“I signed up for this trip to learn about working with others while enjoying my spring break in a new place. I am excited to meet the families that we are helping and leave behind a gift from UWRF. I am not excited about the long car ride.” — Madi Nolan
“I am super excited for this experience. I hope that I will get to learn more about the Habitat for Humanity organization, and help out some families in need. It should be a great time with other student athletes!” — Hailey Huseth
In reviewing our options, our team settled on the site of Longmont, Colo.
which is 927 miles away…
Why is Longmont in need of help? In 2013, Boulder County was hit with a devastating flood. To put it simply, the area received a year’s worth of rainfall in less than two days. The rivers flooded, homes were destroyed, and lives were lost. You can ready more about that historic flood here. Despite that flood happening almost five and a half years ago, the city of Lyons, Colo., is still reeling from it. That area was hit particularly hard because there is a nearby confluence of two rivers and when homes were destroyed by this. It was too expensive for most people to rebuild.
Our group will be assisting in the construction of three duplexes that will help six families. We hope that through this blog you can follow along in our journey, learn more about a few of our outstanding student-athletes, and see about the opportunities UWRF students get to experience that aid in their personal growth. All of these things collectively further the mission of our university which is to help prepare students to be productive, creative, ethical, engaged citizens and leaders with an informed global perspective.
Thank you for reading and next time you see us, we’ll be on our way!
