Trading their pantsuits for hardhats, students and faculty of the Stillman School of Business spent a day in Orange last week working with Habitat for Humanity for the first time.
“I’m thrilled with how it went,” Steven Lorenzet, associate dean of business academic services said. “We all agree that we’re making this a yearly thing now and so I’m thrilled that we’re going to have a long term impact on the community around us.”
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Stillman students parterned with Habitat for Humanity to help residents in Orange, N.J.
Photo courtesy of Steven Lorenzet[/caption]
The service opportunity was set up through Enterprise, a car-rental company which recruits at Seton Hall. Lorenzet sent an email to students advertising the service opportunity. Within a day, all available service spots were occupied and some students were even turned away, according to Lorenzet.
Senior finance and economics major Emanuelle Sedita was one of the 13 people who got to go.
“My family personally benefited from Habitat many years ago,” Sedita said. “When I got the email I was like ‘wow I really want to do this, this is perfect for me to go do.’”
Other people at the event included members of SHU’s Habitat for Humanity club and representatives from Enterprise. Together they worked on the interior of a house by painting and caulking windows and doors.
“Every now and then you’d just kinda look around and realize that there’s about 25, maybe close to 30 people, who are probably never going to meet whoever moves in here who all just want to do something nice for people they don’t even know,” Lorenzet said.
Freshman IT management major Daniel Mikrut said seeing strangers come together and contribute was his favorite part of the day.
“Working with Habitat for Humanity was definitely a life changing experience. I had no idea what to expect and knew not a single person there,” Mikrut wrote in an email, “I’ve never seen so many caring people helping out in any way they could.”
Lorenzet said though it was a hard day’s work, it was a fun day’s work.
“It’s important to do good things for other people and when you do you’re probably going to feel really good about yourself at the same time,” Lorenzet said. “I think that’s exactly what happened.”
Emily Pemble can be reached at emily.pemble@student.shu.edu.
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