Track and Field’s Markowitz Spends Spring Break Giving Back
When most students plan trips for spring break, they think about
relaxing and enjoying the bright sun. Track and field athlete
David Markowitz, did just that, but in a different way. The junior
spent the week in Taos, New Mexico, as a volunteer with the
Carnegie Mellon University chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
“I enjoyed working with this group because it afforded me
the opportunity to visit parts of the country I would not usually
see and I got to work outside and get my hands dirty,”
commented Markowitz.
Taos is located about three hours north of Albuquerque, New
Mexico, and an hour from the Colorado border. At 7,500 feet above
sea level, the air is noticeably thinner than in Pittsburgh and at
times he found himself a little short of air.
“Walking around Taos made me feel as if I had just done a
track workout,” stated Markowitz.
The purpose of the week-long trip was to travel to an area in need
of volunteers and work on projects that would help the local
chapter. On Monday, Markowitz’ group spent the day in Questa,
New Mexico, about 25 miles north of Taos, cleaning a house that was
almost completed and patching up last holes in the walls and
floors. The next day, the volunteers stayed in Taos to work in a
store that receives donated appliances, paintings, tools, and
miscellaneous supplies and sells them at discounted prices.
Markowitz helped to organize the shelves, repair the walls and make
adobe bricks for the next home to be built in the area.
On Wednesday, the group was able to enjoy a day off and Markowitz
took full advantage of his time, spending the whole day exploring
the sights and enjoying the sunshine. He crossed the Rio Grande
Gorge via the famous Gorge Bridge, which is a UNESCO World Heritage
site. He also was able to visit Earthships, which is an
environmentally friendly series of buildings made from used tires,
bottles, Earth and other materials that have a minimal impact on
the local resources.
After sightseeing and relaxing, it was back to work on Thursday.
The group spent the next two days making adobe bricks, which are
made of sand, clay, water and straw.
“This was a new building material for me to work with
because in the Southwest, buildings must be able to keep the heat
out during the day but in at night. Adobe is able to accomplish
this goal while being durable,” added Markowitz.
Markowitz commented on how he was able to meet a lot of great
people from Carnegie Mellon that he would not usually cross paths
with and for that he was grateful.
“I learned some interesting new ways to build homes and
enjoyed seeing the sun for a couple of days,” said Markowitz.
“I look forward to the next build trip and this upcoming
outdoor track season. Go Tartans!”