Great Stories
Montana Campus Corps:
College Students Meeting Critical Community Needs
In Bigger Shoes by Soren Hawkins

As part of my direct service, I was able to do a bit of traveling. My team went to Shelby on one occasion, while our classmates' trips ranged from Billings to Eastern Oregon. Our supervisor, Tom McNab, traveled with us all on nearly every occasion, to be sure that the clients were content and our projects on track. Not only does Tom go on several trips per semester, but he spends the "down times" of December and Summer searching for new clients, following leads, and speaking with all sorts of folk. His job is not only to teach us Architecture students, but also to further MSU's School of Architecture via the Community Design Center.

At the beginning of this December, I was able to render Tom a service - and step into some bigger shoes. Through my employer in Helena, I was given a lead for a potential client. This client was the Montana City School, covering grades K through 8. There are probably 300+ students at this recently renovated school, and they have copious amounts of land for the kids to spend recess on. I called them up, and was surprised to be talking with a 7th grader. She was very convincing in that I needed to come see their school and survey the playgrounds. She and her fellow student representative had dozens of ideas and plans for their school, and were extremely excited. It was a bit contagious. Only after speaking thoroughly with the 7th grader did I manage to get ahold of the Priniciple. She was just as excited, but I wasn't sure how Tom would find the time to come see them.

After a bit of deliberation, I decided I could bring in this client for Tom, and perhaps shoulder some of the load that he puts on each semester. I know it was just a chunk, and the business side of things still needs to take place (contracts, scope of work documents, etc.), but I felt very good while I toured the Montana City School grounds, lead by two enthousiastic middle-schoolers with big ideas and confidence.

No matter how old we may or may not be, we are never too young to take on something.

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