Clarkson University Student Zhan Wen Li of Manhattan, N.Y., Chooses Alternative Spring Break in Buffalo with Habitat for Humanity

2014 Apr 15

Clarkson University sophomore Zhan Wen Li, a global supply chain management major from Manhattan, N.Y., joined 13 other students helping Habitat for Humanity through its Collegiate Challenge program during spring break.

These students chose public service rather than celebrating at a vacation hotspot.

The student volunteers were members of five professional societies: AISES (American Indian Science & Engineering Society), NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers), SASE (Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers), SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and SWE (Society of Women Engineers).

Vicki Clark, assistant to the assistant vice president for diversity initiatives, says that the students started working on the alternative break last fall.

Projects included anything from demolition, framing, and wrapping, to installing insulation or cleaning up.

Collegiate Challenge is a year-round alternative break program of Habitat for Humanity. Groups spend one week working with a local affiliate, community and partner families to help eliminate poverty housing in the area.

Founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, Habitat for Humanity International has helped build or repair more than 800,000 houses and served more than four million people around the world.

Clarkson University launches leaders into the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as a CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. Located just outside the Adirondack Park in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world's pressing issues. Through 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, sciences and health sciences, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and engineering innovation with enterprise.