Eddie Richter ’12 had plans to give back wherever he could once in college, and found the Spring Break period to be the perfect opportunity. “I applied for an ‘alternative Spring Break’ trip the spring of 2009, through the Vincentian Community Center, which travels to Philadelphia each year,” says the biology major from Poplar Ridge, NY. He worked at an after-school program with under-privileged children and helped out at a thrift shop and a food pantry.

One year later, Eddie traveled with the Habitat for Humanity group on campus to Tazewell, TN, to participate in Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge. This initiative is designed for college students to spend their spring break working on building homes throughout the United States. “The St. Lawrence club frequently helps out with local ‘builds’ by volunteering for the Raquette Valley Habitat for Humanity chapter,” says Eddie, a graduate of Southern Cayuga Junior-Senior High School.

“For me, it’s the little things that put it together. It’s the memories of the little kids smiling,” Eddie says. “It makes me appreciate things.”

Eddie not only builds housing; he helps the people in it.  He’s a college assistant (CA) at St. Lawrence, working with residents in a campus living unit with the problems that occur in daily life.

Eddie hopes to spend a semester studying in New Zealand on the St. Lawrence program there.  After graduating, he has plans to attend graduate school to receive his Ph.D. in ecology while never losing sight of his passion for community service. “I feel really fortunate to be in a position that I am today. I enjoy giving back as much as I can,” he says.