USAF Academy cadets help build Habitat for Humanity home

Lauren Benedict is training to be a future officer in the United States Air Force.

And on a Habitat for Humanity site in Nettleton, the 20-year-old from Sandwich, Massachusetts learned about serving others, through construction.

“Give something back to the community who already gives so much to us, the taxpayers pay for our education, give back to the community,” said Cadet Benedict.

Benedict is one of 11 cadets from the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado who spent their spring break working with Northeast Mississippi Habitat for Humanity.

The cadets were assigned a group and location at random. For many, it’s a chance to see new parts of the country and make new friends and share the values and work ethic they all have in common.

Chris Partin is the construction supervisor for Northeast Mississippi Habitat for Humanity.  He said the cadets are high achievers and hard workers that provide a valuable service.

“Having volunteers do a lot of the labor, it helps with our costs, but it also helps our volunteers learn new skills,” said Partin.

Cadets in the team also get to learn about Mississippi’s culture, customs, musical heritage, and food.

“Everyone is so friendly, saying, hi, how are you, that never happens in New York.  I am a huge fan of Elvis, I bought a bunch of postcards, sending to my mother, grandmother,  and southern barbecue is delicious, I went to a rib place, I was like, oh my goodness, it’s fall off the bone, lip smacking, finger licking good,” said Cadet Christina Yun, from Westchester, NY.

Cadets will wrap up their work Friday, then head back to Colorado Springs.

Habitat homeowners get 20 year, no interest loans and they put in hundreds of hours of “sweat equity” on their homes and other people’s houses as part of the program.