The WTS Student Chapter Participated in Alachua Women Build

The Florida Gator Student Chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) participated in an “Alachua Women Build” event on March 10, 2018. Participation in this event was part of the WTS student chapter’s service to the community. The student chapter felt empowered by learning home-building skills while helping to build a home for a hard working family.

Very much like WTS’s history, Alachua Women Build was founded by a group of women who recognized a need in their community and addressed it. And since the mid-1990s, Alachua Women Build has been providing good, affordable housing in the Gainesville community and has allowed women to take an active role in the process.

“Working with the Alachua Habitat for Humanity, the Alachua Women Build project was a great way to give back to the Gainesville Community and be surrounded by others dedicated to advancing women,” said Deja Jackson, president of the WTS Florida Gator Student Chapter. “It was truly amazing to work with all of those women who have literally built houses from the ground up, together, time and time again.”

Jackson said that the student chapter was going to continue to partner with Alachua Women Build on future projects, and she plans to incorporate this activity into future semester plans. She also wishes to thank Kathleen Pagan, a senior planner with Alachua County Growth Management, for her continued support and advice to the chapter, and for encouraging them to participate with Alachua Women Build.

“It’s crazy to think that after volunteering with Alachua Women Build for a few short years, women will literally walk away with the knowledge to be able to build their own home from the ground up,” Jackson said.

Other WTS members who participated in this one-day event were Zuhair Almaghrabi, who is the chapter’s treasurer, and Marilo Martin Gasulla, who serves as the social media coordinator.