With paint covering his hands, Kevin Luna smiled when describing how he’s spending spring break this year. 

“I was looking forward to it,” said Luna. “I call this my vacation. This is better than just going home.”  

Luna is one of 13 students from Suffolk University spending this week in Meridian volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. Students at the Boston school are sent to various locations across the country to rehabilitate homes as as part of an alternative spring break program. 

The trip wasn’t the first for Luna, a freshman studying international relations and Asian studies. He volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in Myanmar. 

Visiting the South, Luna said he felt some culture shock, but has also found the trip inspiring. 

“I have a passion for making people live easier lives,” Luna said. “I decided to come to Mississippi because I wanted to continue my community service.” 

One benefit of the program, Luna said, is that students learn new skills and are exposed to different cultures.

Catherine Seaver, a junior from Taunton, Massachusetts is majoring in government with a focus on law and public policy. She’s always had an interest in helping others and was encouraged to volunteer by her parents. The build in Mississippi is her first doing any kind of home renovation.

“When I found out I had this opportunity, I had to take it,” Seaver said.

Kara Cronin switched her major from interior design to global communications after taking a similar trip to Indiana last year.  

“I think for me, being able to have that hand to make a difference is really amazing,” said Cronin, a junior at Suffolk. 

The students aren’t alone on the trip. Cameron Breither, a professor in gender, sexuality and religion at Suffolk is originally from North Carolina. He took the opportunity to come back to the South, and has enjoyed how the students are asking him about Mississippi culture and history.  

“I think for a lot of them, it is a big culture shock,” Breither said.

Roland Stewart, a site supervisor with Lauderdale County Habit for Humanity, said students have been volunteering here for about a decade. 

“What they get from this is the fact they are doing God’s work in helping those that are less fortunate than they are,” Stewart said.