Seniors team up to build house for dining hall worker

Thi Thi Toe is all smiles as she serves students in Rams Head Dining Hall — some of the same students she sees on the weekends who choose to give back to her.

Toe, her husband Paw Lu and their six-year-old son Beckham are getting a new home through Habitat for Humanity, and the class of 2015 is heading up the effort.

“We decided that we would really like to give back to something that was physical and meaningful and really shows the class of 2015’s impact on the Carolina community,” said senior class president Sasha Seymore.

Originally from Myanmar, Toe and her husband fled to a refugee camp in Thailand to escape political unrest. After seven years in the camp, the family moved to the U.S. when their son was born.

Toe previously applied twice for a Habitat house, and, by her third try, she was ready to give up. So when she opened the letter of approval, she was ecstatic.

“For our son and for the future, it’s so good to have a house so we can live safely in our own home,” she said through an interpreter. “I’m so happy that a group is helping to build the house for us.”

Seymore had a conversation with Harrison Merrill, president of the class of 1965, about bridging the 50-year gap between their classes by teaming up to fund the house. Merrill encouraged his classmates to donate.

“What we’re doing is that we’re going out there with the physical tools, the hammers and nails, and we’re going to build the house,” Seymore said. “And they’re going to help us fundraise for it.”

The senior class has to raise $25,000 to completely fund the house. As of Jan. 23, $5,000 had been raised.

Volunteers work on the house every Saturday. Construction will be completed in March, and the class of 2015 will dedicate the house as a class gift during graduation.

“On our first build date, the entire family came out and helped us build,” Seymore said. “It was just really encouraging to see Paw Lu and see how much this house means to him, and to see that he would put this time and energy into the house.”

Volunteers can register by visiting the senior class website. There are two 12-person shifts every Saturday that typically last for four hours.

Seymore said the seniors will do whatever it takes to raise the $25,000. Senior bar nights and a March Madness contest will benefit the cause.

“We’d love any class of 2015 support that we can,” Seymore said. “We’ll take other classes, too — we don’t discriminate.”

Any donations to the Habitat house do not count toward the Senior Campaign, a separate University fundraising event hosted by the Office of University Development.

Toe and her family are looking forward to living in their own house.

“Having a house is so important,” said Chaw Chaw Thwai, an interpreter with Habitat for Humanity who lives in her own Habitat house.

“It’s a dream come true. Coming from the refugee camps, it is so important.”

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