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Turn on a television after eleven o'clock on any given night and you're bound to see it: "Girls bearing it all, going crazy on spring break!"

Spring Break has traditionally been an opportunity for college students to indulge in all the depths of hedonism and debauchery that their liquor saturated bodies can handle. Parents roll their eyes at the mention of "Cancun" or "Florida" with the fear of their little angels contracting some communicable disease from a wasted stranger.

But there is a completely different side to Spring Break that I was lucky enough to witness this year. For the last few months the UWM chapter of Habitat for Humanity has been fundraising for a trip to Port Charlotte (a suburb of Fort. Myers). This area and nearby Punta Gorda were hit two years ago by hurricane Charley. Across the landscape the half broken tress still stand as a testament to it's fury. The combination of the already present poverty along with the destruction of Charley left Port Charlotte with a severe lack of affordable housing.

Up until two days before Spring Break, I had been scrambling to piece together plans and confirm people for a road-trip to the Florida Keys. I calculated gas mileage and hotel costs and the closer I got to the trip, the more my plans were being ripped apart at the seams.

On the Wednesday night before the start of break my friend urgently called me to see if I was interested in going to Florida with Habitat for Humanity. My friend Ali had heard through her friend who had signed up for the trip that three people who had signed up for the trip a few months ago had to back out and the leaders were looking to fill the gap. Knowing nothing of what to expect, my friends and I secured the three remaining spots.

At seven in the morning on the day of departure, my three friends and I met the nine other people who we would be spending the next 21 hours in a rented van. I was curious to see what types of people would sign up to work construction over their break. The students ranged in age from 18 to 32. Although Habitat is an ecumenical Christian organization, volunteers included Muslims, Jews, and atheists. All the people involved were just looking for a way to help out and do something useful with their spring break, along with having fun.

We arrived on the job site on Monday at eight in the morning, and were immediately prepped on our tasks for the days. The program was prepared so that all skill levels would have the ability to help out, especially since some of the members of our group had barely ever held a hammer before. The house we were working on started without any siding or roofing, and by the end of the trip it had begun to resemble the completed exterior of a house. Everyone pretty much agreed that roofing was the most fun project we worked on because within a day and a half we had seen the plywood roof become completely shingled. One of the most rewarding experiences was the sight of all the changes that the house went through in the short week we worked there.

After working a full day in the hot Florida sun, we all felt the strains of the work. However, we still went to the beautiful beaches of the area every day. All the standard activities that one would do while vacationing in Florida, the group did. Every afternoon lounging on the beach had been made more satisfying by the fact that we had accomplished so much already in the day.

One of the stipulations of the trip was however that there was no drinking allowed, even on activities not associated with Habitat. This seemed a bit ridiculous to most of us, especially the ones who were over 21, because having a cold beer after a long day of roofing seems only appropriate and provides the balance between work and play necessary to get a large draw of students to come work for the organization.

The old adage goes "what happens on spring break, stays on spring break," but the twelve of us found that it doesn't apply to what we did. We were proud of having given back on our vacation and want to tell about our experiences. Every facet of the standard spring break was still there: friendships were formed and tans were achieved, along with the obligatory sand in our shoes. But the best part is that when we tell our parents that we built a house for a family in poverty, we don't have to be greeted with rolled eyes.

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