We know, your inbox and Facebook wall are flooded with H4H shout outs, but we have to jump on the school spirit bandwagon: Congratulations, Habitat for Humanity, on an incredible, against-all-odds success.
By this point, everyone knows what unique and astounding contributions Habitat makes, both to our campus and on a much broader scale. The overwhelming slew of comments and photos from Habitat fans proved, again and again, how much of an impact the club makes. For those who are somehow out of the Habitat loop, it’s an organization that sends a group of WC students on a service mission for alternative spring and fall breaks. The students work long hours to construct a house for a family in need, and by the time they head home at the end of the week, they feel like a family themselves.
So it’s no surprise that this close-knit, supportive club garnered a massive following for Barnes and Noble’s “Build a Future” Facebook competition.
What was surprising, however, was the sheer magnitude of the support they received, not only from members of the Habitat community, but from all around the world.
Alumni, family, former faculty members, Goose Nation fans – it seemed like everyone pulled out a camera or smartphone to capture their support for the Bookstore’s Facebook page. There were photos of “I love H4H” in Spain, with pets, written in the sand, in science labs, even with a human skeleton. And the variety of supporters was awe-inspiring; Habitat was showered with love from the Reiss family, Public Safety, the WC dance team, and alumni worldwide.
Our campus population is about a 30th the size of Penn State’s, but even their 44,000 students couldn’t out-spirit us. In six short weeks, we proved that even a college tucked away in a sleepy little Eastern Shore town can have the spirit of thousands.
Snagging more than 18,000 points and earning the title of the nation’s most dedicated Habitat school is an astounding feat, but we made it look easy. After all, if a group of 12 college students can build a house in one short week, what’s so difficult about earning a few thousand Facebook likes?
Actually, bookstore manager Shannon Wyble, the driving force behind our massive win, says it best:
“We take our name from a major benefactor who took a smaller, untrained, ill-equipped, and under-manned army against the war power of their time and won. …We have a history of not just facing adversity but overcoming it. You ask how we could think we could win? I ask how you think we could lose?”
So our congrats extends far beyond just the Habitat members on campus. There are members of the WC flock in all corners of the globe, proof of how our years in Chestertown will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
Again Habitat, a job very well done. And to everyone who showed their support, (whether on a mission trip to Georgia) or with a Facebook wall “like,” congratulations.
Editorials represent the collective viewpoint of the entire Elm editorial board.