Students win award from local chapter of Habitat for Humanity

IU School of Public Health-Bloomington (SPH-B) recent graduates Emma Schreier and Fiona Goldman were awarded the 2024 “Leaving a Legacy” Award from Habitat for Humanity (HFH) Monroe County Chapter for their intern work creating the Youth Sweat Equity curriculum. Schreier and Goldman also secured a $6,380 grant from Bloomington women’s philanthropic organization Tri Kappa Alpha to help fund the program into the future. Schreier obtained her Master of Public Health and Goldman graduated with a major in community health and a minor in human sexuality.

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Schreier was introduced to HFH through Dr. Catherine Sherwood-Laughlin, the faculty coordinator for SPH-B Master of Public Health graduate students and member of the HFH Board of Directors.

"Originally, I had secured a position on a research program, but realized that I would have been sitting at a computer all day. I wanted to find an experience where I could become more involved in the Bloomington community," shares Schreier. "I was immediately excited by Habitat’s important work."

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Goldman, who was unavailable for comment at the writing of this article, connected to the program through HFH staff Martha Shedd and Desiree DeMolina. Schreier says that she and Goldman did not know each other prior to interning together but became fast friends as they worked with Shedd on helping develop the year-long curriculum for the kids’ sweat equity program that was first introduced at HFH last fall to accompany the adult program.

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"Adults in families who are approved for a Habitat home are required to put in 250 hours toward earning their home and that can be on-the-job painting, nailing, and landscaping, but also educational programs such as how to do a mortgage, save money, and balance their finances," says Dr. Sherwood-Laughlin. "Most of these families are coming from terrible living conditions and suddenly they have this new house, and they don’t always know how to handle that. It becomes overwhelming for them. The sweat equity program provides support and resources for the families to help with the transition." 

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Thanks to the collective efforts of Schreier and Goldman prior to graduation, kids now can participate in the developmentally age-appropriate program to help their parents earn their new home. For instance, when students earn 25 hours, they can choose the paint colors for their rooms—and develop critical life skills along the way.

"I decided to use the first class as an introduction to Habitat, give the students the chance to get to know each other, and learn more about their interests," says Schreier. "We learned they loved their PE classes, recess, math, and science, wanted to learn more about sports, and loved to play games with each other."

They implemented classes including Yoga for Kids, Intro to Volleyball (with IU athletes and Hoosiers for Good), and design classes with Uplands Maker Mobile. Schreier says they also planned classes that aligned with HFH’s mission, building houses out of play-doh and popsicle sticks while learning about the Habitat construction process from Site Supervisor Sarah Woolford. In the future, students will attend financial literacy workshops with HFH partner First Financial Bank—and explore the parks and nature near their future homes at Osage Place with the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation roving naturalists.

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"Leading the kids’ classes confirmed my passion for health education and working with children and adolescents," shares Schreier, who says the pedagogical techniques learned from faculty member Heather Eastman-Mueller, Ph.D. were a critical resource for her.

Schreier is particularly proud of being awarded the full amount requested from Tri Kappa Alpha, as it was her first grant application process done outside of a classroom. Goldman also assisted in marketing efforts for HFH social media platforms; truly paving the way for the success of subsequent student interns.

"I think the primary obstacle was the grant period begins this June after the conclusion of my internship, so I had to work closely with Martha and Development Director Lindsey Boswell to develop an evaluation plan that would be thorough and feasible for future interns and staff to implement," she adds. "I also budgeted for stipends for future interns in order to ensure continued capacity for the program."

For more stories about SPH-B students, faculty and staff making an impact locally and worldwide, visit go.iu.edu/48bx.

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