Collegial construction in Virginia

Orientation for incoming freshmen at Virginia’s Roanoke College includes building a brand new home alongside a Habitat family.

The college’s “R House” program — a collaboration with Habitat in the Roanoke Valley — has been a required service component for freshmen since 2006. This year’s build was extra special, resulting in Habitat Roanoke’s 200th house.

“For students, it’s not just banging nails in a board,” says Jesse Griffin, who directs the school’s Center for Civic Engagement. “They meet the family, and the family gets to know the whole freshman class. It’s a real community builder.”

In August, more than 500 freshmen and about 100 faculty and staff members joined construction supervisors and volunteers to frame the house, which was then moved to its permanent location, roofed and finished around Thanksgiving.