Go Habs go
Students take on key role in effort to build housing units
Habitat for Humanity Newfoundland and Labrador and the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) are taking their relationship to the next level.
Habitat for Humanity Newfoundland and Labrador and the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) are taking their relationship to the next level.
The college has supported the organization in an unofficial capacity for years, but has formally declared its support by signing a two-year memorandum of agreement Monday afternoon.
Under the agreement, the college has committed to recruiting students, teachers and staff to volunteer on projects, said Ann Marie Vaughan, president and CEO of the college.
“The faculty, staff and students who become involved in these projects will work with Habitat for Humanity Newfoundland and Labrador to draft plans for new home models, deliver home-maintenance workshops to family partners, review the build process and investigate new business opportunities for Habitat for Humanity Newfoundland and Labrador’s Restore,” she said.
“We have also committed to recruiting members of our campus administration leadership team … to sit on chapter steering committees and provide resources for hosting committee and public meetings in advance.”
Vaughan said Craig Greene, an architectural engineering technology instructor at the Ridge Road campus, played a key role in getting the agreement signed. As a former volunteer, board member and build chairman with Habitat for Humanity, he was keen on strengthening the relationship.
“Craig has always said that the potential for students in trades and technology programs to learn on the job and to apply their skills while helping the community has been a driving factor for his involvement,” Vaughan said.
Student effort
Four of Greene’s students — Allyson Barnable, Ashley Riggs, Melissa Kennedy and Samantha Taylor — are also playing a key role. Their Capstone project centres on the partnership, and includes the technical design and construction of a housing unit. Vaughan said CNA will see a new house constructed every year.
“It’s this type of drive from our instructors and students that we feel is the college’s greatest contribution to this agreement,” Vaughan said.
Barnable said formalizing the partnership will help get more people involved. For her and her three classmates, it’s a big deal.
“We’re doing this for our Capstone project, so we’re taking everything we learned in our program and applying it to this, and it’s going to be a big factor in whether or not we graduate,” she said, laughing.
Riggs said their job includes bringing people from the col- lege’s varying programs into the effort.
“It may seem simple, but there’s floor plans, electrical plans, plumbing, HVAC — there’s a lot of different factors that build into it. So we’re looking to get all the different programs involved and help make it a bit easier on us with learning. It’s more hands on, getting to see it. And obviously it’s Habitat, which is excellent,” Riggs said.
Kennedy said she has always been interested in helping Habitat for Humanity.
“I’d make donations at the building all the time with furniture and stuff. So I think it’ll be really interesting, and it’ll be really cool to look at something in the future and be like, ‘we did that, and we helped somebody.’”
“We’re looking to get all the different programs involved and help make it a bit easier on us with learning. It’s more hands on, getting to see it. And obviously it’s Habitat, which is excellent.”
Ashley Riggs, CNA student