Program adds service to curriculum
By JASON McFARLEY
News Editor
Matt Enquist needed a break — a Spring Break.
More than a year and a half of late nights and early mornings in Notre Dame's architecture building had begun to make Enquist question his choice of academic programs.
"We architecture majors get stuck in Bond Hall. We have really crazy hours," the second-year archie said.
Then came an opportunity to travel to Mexico during the University's mid-semester break last week, and, according to Enquist, "it was like a God-send."
The trip to Tecate, Mexico, which lasted from March 9 to 16, was established as a pilot service program for Notre Dame architecture students. Officials in the architecture school, the Center for Social Concerns and the Kellogg Institute served as organizers of the project.
"The curriculum in the architecture program is very rigorous," said fifth-year major Rona Reodica, who helped coordinate the project. "Sometimes it's hard for students to take advantage of as many opportunities as they might like."
Thirteen students participated in the service venture, building houses for local families Tecate, a bordertown an hour south of San Diego in Baja, California. For a week, the students split into pairs, working at scattered Tecate sites with other service groups from American churches and high schools.
The endeavor provided students the chance to blend architecture skills with volunteer efforts. Enquist said work at his site included leveling ground, pouring and mixing concrete and building a foundation.
In general, students worked to construct small two-room houses from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Reodica said.
"The work was not hard, and many of the high school students on our sites did a large part of the building," she said. "What I enjoyed most was getting to work side by side with the families whose homes we were building."
Enquist shared Reodica's enthusiasm.
"It was really rewarding to go down and experience a different culture. We were able to share these tremendous blessings we've been given."
The students said the trip also served as a bonding opportunity for them.
Reodica said students were introduced to the dynamics of group wok and friendship not only while working on site but also while braving the Mexican outdoors.
Although a local mission provided food for volunteers, the students were responsible for their own sleeping arrangements. Camping out — living what Reodica called the "rustic lifestyle" — proved a learning experience for the group.
"You wouldn't think it, but it was actually really cold," Reodica said of the Baja temperatures that often dip around 30 degrees at night. "Everyone handled it well, though. We figured that families there face those situations every day, so we tried to adjust."
Reodica said she hopes to see the Tecate trip become an annual offering.
She graduates in May, and Enquist will spend the 2001-2002 academic year in Rome, but both said they would like to see increased participation in the project in the future.
"I hope we have the leadership, organization and participation so that we can continue this program in the years to come," Enquist said. "In the beginning, we didn't have a clear idea of what we'd be doing, but it turned out to be a perfect experience."
A perf pect break from the usual routine in Bond Hall.
All News Stories for Thursday, March 22, 2001
