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!”