Lorelei Vining, who was an intern at Habitat for Humanity of Archuleta County this summer through the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation’s Summer Work Program, was not looking forward to her high school’s homecoming celebration. It meant she would miss a day of volunteering at the Habitat Archuleta build sites.
Vining, who just began her senior year at Pagosa Springs High School, said, “Sadly, it interrupts my coming to volunteer tomorrow,” and said her Saturday at Habitat would’ve been “way more fun.”
She added she “loved” interning at the Habitat Archuleta sites this summer because of the camaraderie among the volunteers.
“The variety of things you can do is great,” Vining said. “You get tired of one thing, you can do something else. Although I never got tired of doing any of it.”
Vining explained she was part of the Building Trades Program at the high school, where she, working with two others, learned valuable construction skills by building and designing a shed.
Vining became entrenched in the program, taking multiple classes about construction and designing buildings. Vining even had a hand in designing the storage units the high school is building.
Vining was on Habitat’s build sites four days every week. She said her favorite task was drywalling.
“It really helps being detail-oriented with that kind of thing,” she said. “You have to be really smooth before you can texture it.”
Vining was born and raised in Pagosa Springs and is planning on volunteering with Habitat Archuleta through the end of the build season.
Vining did not hesitate to say she’d return as an intern or volunteer next year.
In her free time, she said she “collects hobbies like baseball cards.”
Vining added that in one of her classes she’s working to paint a mural on a “boring” wall in the high school. It will involve a pirate ship with a logo, despite her aversion to two-dimensional art.
After she graduates in the spring, she plans to take a gap year to learn more about the trades, “and get all of the certifications or lessons that I can and do all the classes that I can that could help.”
“I’m taking it slow, not rushing,” Vining added.
