Guest Blog: Janelle | A Day On Site

September 6, 2013

I'd like to introduce our second guest blogger: one of our wonderful volunteers.  Janelle is a first year full-time MBA Candidate at NC State University's Jenkins Graduate School. She has a BBA in Marketing from James Madison University. Most recently before starting business school at NC State, Janelle was marketing manager at Wilkinson Supply Company. She's a lover of running and Pinterest. When not in class, you could probably find her exploring the restaurant scene in downtown Raleigh. "When reviewing my schedule for the incoming NC State Jenkins MBA student orientation, I was excited to see that Habitat for Humanity was on the calendar. I have had the opportunity to work on Habitat for Humanity projects before, and I thought it’d be a great way to get to know the people I’ll be spending the next two years with -- outside of the classroom. So, at 7:30am on a hot Saturday morning, more than 50 NC State Jenkins MBA students gathered to assist with the completion of 4 different homes in Apex, NC. We met members of the Habitat for Humanity team and received an energizing welcome. We learned about the Habitat for Humanity organization, the impact the teams have had in Wake County, what is required of the homeowners and the type of work we’d be doing. Armed with this new knowledge (and numerous reminders to drink plenty of water!), the first year MBAs and second year peer mentors made our way to the construction site. We caulked, painted, hung siding, installed doors and cleaned. It was nice to see people work together and teach one another, using their strengths to get the job done. Even better was taking time out as a team to be of service to others.  We had just experienced five days of NC State faculty and staff investing their time to help set us up for success. It was really great to come together as a class and pay forward that kind of support."