Spring Break 2002

During spring break, 91 Huntington College students headed in groups to New York, Florida, Kentucky, Ontario, and Honduras on service projects, wanting to make a difference in people's lives.

Each year, HC's Joe Mertz Center for Volunteer Service offers service-learning trips in the United States and abroad. This year's Spring Bread was March 23--April 1. Here are some glimpses into these trips.

New York City

The New York City group (above) volunteered at Ground Zero through the Salvation Army. They manned the food tent which served workers sifting through the rubble, and assisted at the Medical Examiner's Office. The trip was led by HC Admissions Counselor Trevor Lee and 2000 graduate Cory Whitehead, an employee of Christianity Today, Inc. Students participating in the trip included:

• Marcy Adams (Huntington, Ind.)
• Heather Banks (Arcanum, Ohio)
• Lynda Barnum (Drexel Hill, Pa.)
• Adam Grill (Perry, Mich.)
• Nathan Hawkins (Huntington, Ind.)
• Rachel Holland (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
• Michael Matura (Kitchener, Ont.)
• Grace McBrayer (Cincinnati, Ohio)
• Julie Moore (Arcanum, Ohio)
• Elizabeth Wood (Columbia City, Ind.)

Tallahassee, Florida

The Tallahassee group built a house in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. Dr. Michael Rowley, Assistant Professor of Speech at HC, led the nine students:

• Kelly Aspacher (Churubusco, Ind.)
• Tanner Babb (Huntington, Ind.
• Katie Brown (Milford, Ind.
• Kristen Freeman (Crawfordsville, Ind.
• Jason Gipe (Columbia City, Ind.
• Tiffany Hrivnak (Belleville, Mich.
• Denise Krauskopf (Fremont, Ind.
• Leslie Russell (Monon, Ind.
• Katie Zimmerman (Blissfield, Mich.

Honduras

Utila is an island off the coast of northern Honduras. Norris Friesen and Jodie Fiedler led a group which worked with the Utila Methodist Community College, a school for students in grades 1-7. They did various maintenance projects and led a Bible club for young people in the community. Members of the Utila team included:

• Virginia Allison (Covington, Ind.)
• Diana Ashley (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
• Nathaniel Baumann (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.)
• Amanda Carr (Lake Odessa, Mich.)
• Annamarie Geivett (Ionia, Mich.)
• Amber Giggy (Andrews, Ind.)
• Benjamin Johnson (Wheaton, Ill.)
• Jeffrey Keiser (Knox, Ind.)
• Aubrey Kocan (Perkasie, Pa.)
• Bartholomew Koester (Watseka, Ill.)
• Katherine Lloyd (Bryan, Ohio)
• Cori Maybee (Brooklyn, Mich.)
• Joshua Nash (Frankfort, Ind.)
• Brian Reynolds (Bourbonnais, Ill.)
• Trisha Schrader (Roca, Neb.)
• Jeffrey Scott (Parma, Ohio)
• Amanda Wagner (Noblesville, Ind.)

Big Laurel, Kentucky

The Kentucky team worked at the United Brethren Laurel Mission under the leadership of Joanne Miller and Anne Salsbery. They painted the interior of a trailer and worked on the foundation of an addition attached to the trailer. They also spent an afternoon working with 22 elementary school children at the Christian school in Big Laurel. The members were:

• Jenny Bowman (Peru, Ind.)
• Joy Chirra (Pioneer, Ohio)
• Janna Cordes (Roann, Ind
• Jodi Frantz (South Whitley, Ind.)
• Lauren Hines (Wauconda, Ill.)
• Andy Keck (Peru, Ind.)
• Jami Lugbill (Wauseon, Ohio)
• Lori Merkle (Walton, Ky.)
• Greg Miller (Bucyrus, Ohio)
• Ken Miller (Bluffton, Ohio)
• Jessica Salsbery (Sharpsville, Ind.)
• Rebecca Schmit (Uniondale, Ind.)
• Kyle Shoemaker (Westfield, Ind.)
• Natalie Smith (Markle, Ind.)

The Huntington College track and field team spent time at Laurel Mission between weekend track meets at Defiance (Ohio) College and Emory (Georgia) University. The team, led by head coach Tom King, spent time with school children, removed a large stump from the mission, and provided roadside cleanups around the area.

Participants included:

• Erin Abbey (Millbury, Ohio)
• Melissa Bortner (Huntington, Ind.)
• Jenny Cook (Gregory, Mich.)
• Natalie Guenin (Wabash, Ind.)
• Nicole Jacob (Van Wert, Ohio)
• Elizabeth Ngugi (Thaika, Kenya)
• Laura Petery (Richmond, Ind.)
• Julie Porter (Addison, Mich.)
• Carrie Reese (Mt. Cory, Ohio)
• Renee Rupp (Blissfield, Mich.)
• Suzanne Skeel (Oak Harbor, Ohio)
• Aimee Sullivan (Wheaton, Ill.)
• Lindsey Van Gelder (Berne, Ind.)
• Danielle Vohs (Huntington, Ind.)
• Brooke Welch (Berne, Ind.)
• Nathan Alpaugh (Bryan, Ohio)
• Aaron Barker (Wyanet, Ill.)
• John Brittenham (South Milford, Ind.)
• Chris Buehrer (Archbold, Ohio)
• Walter Burgin (Kokomo, Ind.)
• Scott Cooper (Huntington, Ind.)
• Dave Dakin (Wyoming, Mich.)
• Tim Doll (West Harrison, Ind.)
• Jonathan Doyle (Boardman, Ohio)
• Rick Hammer (Hudson, Ind.)
• Billy Kurtz (Woodburn, Ind.)
• Ross Luckett (Westerville, Ohio)
• Alex Maina (Kerugoya, Kenya)
• Jared Neale (Wabash, Ind.)
• Mike Nimtz (Cromwell, Ind.)
• Jon Pelz (Spencerville, Ohio)
• Brandon Schwartz (Brooklyn, Mich.)
• Jason Shidler (Winamac, Ind.)
• Shane Smith (Oak Harbor, Ohio)

Toronto, Ontario

Alums Russ and Nellie led the Toronto group. Through Urban Promise, an organization founded by Tony Campolo, they worked with kids in an after-school program. During the mornings, they served through food banks, homeless shelters, and other projects. The students were:

• Kari Demeter (Warsaw, Ind.)
• Elisa Groth (Winchester, Ind.)
• Weldon Koech (Nairobi, Kenya)
• Shoshonnah McKinney (West Harrison, Ind.)
• Jacob Miles (London, Ont.)
• Carrie Miller (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
• Carole Nickle (Thornhill, Ont.)
• Emily Riggs (Terre Haute, Ind.)
• Mary Secrist (Cincinnati, Ohio)
• Gretta Yoder (Berne, Ind.)