Hello ABST friends and family!
We hope you are excited to share in this journey with us as we take off to Kentucky tomorrow morning. We will be departing from Gannon University around 8:00am in two large SUVs, planning to arrive in the Richmond area around dinner time. So, be sure to stay tuned for an arrival post tomorrow evening, as well as our daily updates throughout the week. Before we embark on our spring break trip, we wanted to introduce our amazing team, so some of our group members put together a little bio to help you all get to know us!
Meet the team:
Kevin Paton: Hey, my name is Kevin Paton. I am a Senior math major, from Silver Spring Maryland. This is my second ABST and my first time leading one.
Hailey Wehner: Hello, my name is Hailey and I am so excited to be one of the student leaders for this year’s HABITAT ABST! I am a junior physician assistant major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and along with this amazing ABST program, I take part in Gannon’s Honors Program, T.R.A.V.E.L. Program, and Dance Team. This is my second leadership opportunity and third ABST, so I have loved being a part of this community since my freshman year and cannot wait for this spring break’s experience. I love this group’s outgoing and open-minded dynamic, and I am so excited to continue getting to know everyone while we serve to try to make a difference in the Kentucky community! I hope to learn more about this new culture and affordable and fair housing in America, as well as grow within myself to shape better perspectives and lead a better life. Yay HABITAT Domestic, Kentucky here we come!
Daniel Scheidhauer: Hello! My name is Daniel Scheidhauer. I am a freshman nursing student and my hometown is Mercer, PA. At Gannon, I am part of the Army ROTC program, along with the Color guard Team and the Pathfinder Club. I am extremely excited for our upcoming ABST trip to Kentucky to work with the Habitat for Humanity Team. I am looking forward to creating new bonds with the people that I am going to be around but most importantly, I am looking forward to giving my service and time to people that are in need.
Lina Reis: My name is Lina Reis and I am a freshman in Gannon’s Industrial Engineering program. Outside of school I enjoy riding my horse, Nova, and spending time with friends. I am excited to go to Kentucky and work with Habitat for Humanity. I look forward to working with my hands and getting to know the community we will be serving. I am thankful to Gannon and my friend and family for giving me this amazing opportunity.
Maria Lohmann: Hello, my name is Maria and I am a junior Nutrition and Human Performance Major from Pittsburgh, PA. I am also involved in Gannon’s cross country team.
Katie Hamilton: Hi! My name is Katie Hamilton and I am a Sports and Exercise Science Major in the 4+3 PT program from Erie. This is my second ABST experience with Gannon and I chose Kentucky because it’s a service opportunity completely different than anything I’ve ever done before!
Devin Williams: Hi everyone! My name is Devin Williams and I am a sophomore biochemistry and mathematics major. I chose this ABST for Habitat for Humanity because I have heard many wonderful things from the participants in the past. I can’t wait to experience everything that this trip has to offer especially getting to get to know the locals from their community. I am so excited to leave for this trip and bring back what I have learned to our community!
Kaitlin Doverspike: Hi everyone, my name is Kaitlin Doverspike. I am a sophomore, Biology/pre-dental major. I am in an affiliate program with LECOM, so I will go to dental school there after I graduate from Gannon. In my free time, I enjoy skiing, hiking, reading, listening to music, and spending time with my friends and family. I am very excited for this Habitat for Humanity trip because I think it is an amazing opportunity to learn new skills and give back. I have been involved in various kinds of service work throughout my life, but I have never tried anything like this and am happy for the chance to try something new.
Grace Foster: Hello! My name is Grace Foster, and I am a freshman at Gannon in the 5 year PA Program, and minoring in Chemistry. My hometown is Buffalo, NY (Go Bills!). Some of my hobbies include baking, especially anything with chocolate in it, reading, hanging out with my friends, and staying active. I love sports, and am on the Women’s Club Volleyball and Softball teams here at Gannon. I am so excited to embark on this exciting journey ahead of us with our amazing Kentucky team!
Brendan Cuddihy: Hi, my name is Brendan Cuddihy. I am a Freshman Mechanical engineering major. I am from Hamburg, NY and I am looking forward to doing a lot of hands on work. I love building, designing, and seeing how things work.
Noah Marangoni: I'm Noah Marangoni, a sophomore Psychology and Clinical Mental Health Counseling major from Pittsburgh. I love fantasy, birds, linguistics, and the mind.
Jenna Minard: Hi! I’m Jenna Minard. I’m a sophomore biology/ premed major. I am in the LECOM early acceptance program. In my free time, I enjoy running, reading, crocheting, and spending time with friends and family.
(We also have the amazing Brandon Fronk and Renee Castrigano as out wonderful trip facilitators. Unfortunately, these busy-bees did not have time to write introductions, but we hope you will get to know them throughout the rest of our blogs)
Here are some silly pictures of most of our group members on "buddy dates" throughout the school year! I hope you enjoyed getting to know each of us a little bit, and we could not be more excited to begin this journey together!
With love,
The Kentucky HABITAT Team
