Students build home from scratch

LOVING, N.M. (KBIM) - A group of Loving High School students spent the last year building an energy efficient new home for a local family in need.

It still needs some landscaping, but Friday, the house on sixth street in Loving was finally finished.

Courtney Madrid is the only girl out of 32 students that built the home from scratch.

"I feel proud, I feel like we accomplished a big thing and I'm just really proud that everybody really loves it," Madrid said.

Loving High School's Building Trade Program started the project with some help from private funding. Once construction got underway, it didn't take too long for students to finish the job.

“A little over a year, about a year and a month," student Stormy Carpenter said.

Carpenter said that the project made him want to pursue carpentry, adding that the experience has given him a new direction in life.

"It's opened so many doors especially for going to college and getting a job in the future," he said.

Instructors said this is a good start to a vocational program, which helps the community at the same time.

"It'll make it a success when these kids become a contractor, and architect, plumber or electricians," Loving High School instructor Brigido Garcia said.

The house is still officially school property, but with only a few pages of paper work left, the single mother who wants to buy the home said she hopes to be in by Thanksgiving.