Brendan McDermott ’99 came to Holy Cross from Fairfield, Conn., because of "academics and soccer." Now he is studying hard, playing rugby, and making an impact as part of the Habitat for Humanity program. McDermott’s interest in Habitat began in high school when he went on an Appalachian trip, and his commitment to the program continues at Holy Cross.

During his spring break last year McDermott went to Lynchburg, Va., with the group and spent a week helping to build low-income housing. "I had a wonderful time and got so much out of it. People say to you, ‘thanks for giving us your spring break,’ but you think, ‘you’re giving us more than we’re giving you.’"

In talking to the coordinator at Lynchburg, McDermott discovered Habitat’s international program. He immediately did some research on the Internet, and last summer, McDermott went to Zambia, Africa. He lived with the people he built with, and spent his days "laying and mortaring concrete blocks." The experience in Africa was so fulfilling that McDermott stayed an additional two and a half weeks, "By the first day I knew the experience would be everything I’d hoped."

It was in Zambia that McDermott decided to get Holy Cross students involved in the program, "I started with the Chaplain’s Office….but word of mouth was my biggest tool."

His "Habitat in Africa" program drew an extraordinary amount of attention, "At my first informational meeting," he explains, "we had 120 people show up. There were 70 applications for only 10 spots."

While the interest in the program is tremendous, McDermott says, "It’s an expensive proposition. It costs about $3,300 per person to go." But he tells people, "we’re going to do it; we’ll do extensive fund-raising." The Holy Cross students traveling to Africa this summer will depart in June for 3 weeks of home-building in Zambia.