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Students Make Good Impression in the Gulf
In what has become a veritable rite of spring, a group of
Champlain College students spent their spring break in the
New Orleans area, aiding cleanup efforts in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina. The 2008 delegation from Champlain was
24 students strong. One student traveling to the Gulf region
for his third time, Matthew Trudeau ’09, reports noticing
the difference that crews like his are making. “Every year less
debris can be seen,” he says. “Every year more families have
homes. Every year more and more volunteers can be seen doing
whatever they can to help every effort down there. It has been
an absolute dream come true to be able to witness the progress.”
On his first trip, Trudeau and his peers cleared mud and clay
out of people’s homes, but this past spring they put up fencing
and painted new houses. “Talk about a full circle!” he says.
On their most recent trip, the Champlainers made a good
impression while doing a good turn, according to a letter that
Nancy Cathcart, director of the College’s Center for Service &
Civic Engagement, received from Daniel Brewer, one of a group
of retirees from Michigan that had been volunteering with
Habitat for Humanity in the same area:
When we first heard that a bunch of college kids were due at
the same time we were there, Brewer wrote, we were not looking
forward to the meeting. The kids came in late at night and quietly
went to bed. We met them the next night at dinner. The first thing
they did was to volunteer to clean up after supper. They didn’t
have to do that after a hard day of construction work, but they
did it. They did it with style. They laughed and helped each other
in a model of cooperation. As they picked up our dinnerware they
engaged us in conversation and asked respectful, sincere questions
and listened carefully as we answered. As the week went on we got
to know them better…. We learned about how they made their
decisions and how they established their own standards of behavior.
We admired the way they raised money to pay for the trip. Their
enthusiasm and boundless energy impressed those of us who worked
with them throughout the week.
I think you should be proud of this group of young adults. They
are an excellent example of the values you teach at your college. All
of our group agreed that we are more optimistic about the leaders
of the next generation as a result of meeting your students. Kudos
to you and your staff for the top-notch job you are doing with these
young people. They are excellent ambassadors for your institution.
—Staff report
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