After sleeping on the floor for almost two years, Bridget Barker’s 7-year-old son will soon have a bedroom all to himself.

“I’m especially excited for him to have a bedroom — a place he can call his own,” the child’s mother said.

BYU construction management students have teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to help provide a new home for the Barker family.

Knowing the needs of Habitat for Humanity, student team leader, Derrick Williams, suggested that BYU students take over a project. The students are providing all of the supervision, scheduling and a lot of the labor for the house, which should be completed in January.

“They have several projects going on right now and just needed some extra help,” said Williams, 25, who is from Boise, Idaho. “I’ve been on the Habitat for Humanity building committee and thought it would be a great project for the construction management students to do.”

Williams said it’s an opportunity to give construction management students some hands-on experience.

“It will help them better manage a company in the future,” Williams said. “It allows them to use their skills to provide a valuable service.”

Barker said she is grateful for the volunteers.

“The BYU students came in and really got things moving for us,” Barker said.

The student volunteers work with the homeowner, who is expected to put in a certain number of hours on the house. Barker said her husband, Lary, is working on the house every night under the direction of Williams.

“The best thing that has come from it is just working with the homeowner,” Williams said. “They’re getting excited, and that makes us excited.”

Construction management student, Bobby Johnson, who has come to know the homeowner, also said he enjoys working with him on the house.

“When we go down, we work side by side with Lary,” said Johnson, 24, from Winchester, Va. “He’s there every time. It’s his dream. He’s going to own his own home here, and we’re helping him with that.”

Student Cameron Sessions has put in 12 hours so far on the house. He said it is satisfying to watch the homeowner and his family.

“This last Saturday we were out there setting the tresses on the roof, and the whole family came out to watch,” said Sessions, 26, from Atlanta. “That was rewarding to know that we’re building a house for someone that needs one.”

Team leader, Williams, said the four-bedroom, two-bathroom house, will be a perfect home for the family.

“It’s very adequate to the needs of the family,” Williams said. “It will blend in with the community it’s in. That’s more of the aims, to make it sufficient for the family.”

Barker said she is not only excited for a new house, but she is also looking forward to raising her children there.

“The most rewarding part is just to know that my children can be raised in a good, safe home,” Barker said. “I am happy that they will have somewhere nice to be raised in that is safe."



Copyright Brigham Young University 10 Nov 2005