October 23, 2025 • 11 mins
What happens when you trade your fall break for five days of service, community and McDonald's runs? Shradha joins NC State's Alternative Service Break team in Rutherford County, working with Rutherford Housing Partnership( RHP) meeting lifelong volunteers, bonding over late nights, and learning what service really means!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shradha (00:02):
You are listening to Eye on the Triangle, WKNC's
weekly public affairs programfrom the campus of North
Carolina State University inRaleigh. Any views and opinions
expressed during Eye of Triangledo not represent NC State or
student media. Hello, everyone.I'm Shradha Bhatia. I'm the
(00:26):
public affairs director here atWKNC Eye on the Triangle.
So this episode is all about howeveryone else spent their fall
break catching up on sleep orstudying, and I ended up in a
van full of people heading fivehours away to Rutherford, North
Carolina for an NC State'sAlternative Service Break
program. So we were going thereto do some community service
(00:49):
with the Rutherford HousingPartnership, which helps repairs
homes for people who need it.And I recorded bits along the
way, talked to a few people, andwell, here's what the trip
really felt like. So firstly,the ride there. We started
around five in the evening, soby the time we actually got on
the road, the sun was, like,already setting.
(01:12):
The traffic was so bad, like,really, really bad. We were
supposed to stop for groceries,but we scrapped the plan. We
were like, you know what? We'rerunning late. It's fine.
So and that and and there was amoment with the incident
response truck. Not a crash.Okay. Not a crash. But, like,
close enough that everyone inthe van, like, woke up.
(01:34):
Everyone was dead silent, andthen we started back again. And
in between, I was taking a nap.It was around, like, eight, I
guess. I was, like, taking a napin the van. And suddenly, I woke
up to people talking aboutconspiracy theories.
I was like, you know what? No.This is a real group of people
(01:57):
because, like, we were talkingabout every single thing and
then realized that and somehowwe came to the conclusion that
every conspiracy theory ends upas some kind of insurance fraud.
We're not getting deep intothat, but, like, yeah. Sure.
And then here's some clips fromthe van.
Van (02:16):
Positive. Yes. Okay. When I first got I didn't turn it on
all the way. I thought I did.
Anyway and then I put it indrive, and it started rolling
backwards. I had to roll atruck, but it didn't do
anything. You you hit it? Yeah.
Shradha (03:03):
So ignore our laughs because, like, it was a very
chaotic car ride there. Okay? Sothen we finally reached around,
like, 11PM. Everyone was sotired. So when we finally
reached there, we were supposedto stay at the First Baptist
Church at in Rutherford NC, andwe were gonna stay in the church
(03:25):
basement.
Everyone was so skeptical aboutit because, like, church
basement, are we serious? Andthen, but when we went inside,
it was so warm and cozy. It hadfairy lights and everything. It
was so warm. Like, we were like,you know what?
We're just gonna stay hereforever because, like, it was so
cute. So cut to the morning, wewere all tired still because we
(03:51):
slept on air mattresses, halfdeflated air mattresses.
Anyways, so we were everyday, wewere supposed to get there by,
like, 7AM sharp, but, like, wegot there by we got at the
church by, like, eleven. So wewere like, you know what? We're
gonna go, like, around eight.
So we went there by eight, andwe met the person in charge for
(04:14):
the Housing Partnership. Hisname was Seth, the most sweetest
person I've ever met. Okay? Andthen he was telling us about the
mission of Rutherford HousingPartnership. And their mission
is to eliminate substandardhousing and make sure every
resident in Rutherford Countyhas access to safe and
affordable homes.
They run programs like HousingMatters, where people can even
(04:38):
donate their homes to berenovated and provided to
families in need, literallytransforming lives and
neighborhoods. We helped with,the repair and maintenance work,
the kind of stuff that smallthat seems small in the moment,
but, like, really helps andmakes a huge difference for
(04:59):
someone's everyday comfort. Andduring the whole process, I
interviewed Seth, and here'swhat he had to say.
Seth (05:10):
Well, my name is Seth. I'm with the organization Rutherford
Housing Partnership here inForest City, North Carolina. And
today, we're working on asection eight home that we're
rehabbing and reroofing to haveavailable for the market. Today,
all the students will be workingon demoing and tearing off the
roof and getting prepped fortomorrow to do a little
(05:31):
structural work. Also, they'vebeen inside pulling up old
flooring and tearing down oldceiling and pulling out cabinets
and general cleanup on theproperty.
And then as we continue the nextfour days, we will be reroofing
the whole house and finish thecleanup. If we have time, we'll
get in a little detail, maybe doa little painting too. And
(05:52):
that'll probably be about allwe'll get into on
Shradha (05:54):
this project.
Van (05:55):
I got it. That's fine. Thank you.
Seth (05:56):
You're welcome. One
Shradha (05:58):
of my favorite parts wasn't even the work even though
I got to use, like, power toolsfor the first time and, like,
chain like, learned how to use ahammer, like, properly. I've
never done this before, and itwas such a good experience for
me. But it wasn't about thework. It was about the people
who went with me. And I talkedto a few other students about
(06:19):
why they joined the trip, andsome said to make an impact, and
others said to step out of theircomfort zone.
And by the second night,everyone was just comfortable
with everyone. And we would sitaround after dinner, talk,
laugh, share stories, and therewas this calm sense of purpose.
(06:39):
Like, yeah, we were tired, butit felt good to be tired for
something real because we wereactually making an impact. And
here's what one of thosestudents who volunteered had to
say about it.
Bradley (06:53):
My name is Bradley Huff. I'm a third year in civil
engineering. Right now, I am onthe ASB trip to Rutherford,
North Carolina. I joined ASBbecause I had heard so many
great things about all thedifferent ASB trips, and I
figured, like, now is the besttime to spring into action. I
think that this ASB trip hasbeen really cool, and I think
that the reason why peopleshould join is just because of
(07:14):
the bonds that are formed.
I feel like I've met so manydifferent people that come from
so many different majors, somany different opportunities.
And so while doing this serviceproject, I've performed these
great connections.
Bobby (07:24):
Yeah.
Shradha (07:28):
So here's I also talked to one of the team leads, and
this is what he had to say.
Bobby (07:35):
Hey, guys. This is Bobby. I'm one of the co leaders out
here, me and Lily, and we're upon the roof right now. I'm with
Strato Strato. Yeah.
We're making really goodprogress. We've already got
basically all the stuff off theroof. This year, we brought a
team that's about twice as largeas we normally bring, so we're
(07:57):
making really fast progress onthe roof. So, hopefully, we'll
get this done before the end ofweek. But yeah.
So first day.
Shradha (08:04):
Let's go. And I met this incredible 77 year old
lady. She was super sweet, andshe's been working with RHP, and
here's what she said. Yeah.
Janet (08:24):
Hi. My name is Janet Jolley, and I'm a 77 year old
grounds person for the womenroofers of Rutherford County.
And we're so glad to have thesepeople from state here to well,
they're doing more than justroofs. They're working on the
inside of a house too. And wehope they get a chance to ride
(08:44):
up to Lake Lure and Chimney Rockand see what a hurricane does to
the mountains.
Well, thank you for coming.
Shradha (08:52):
Thank you. Then I also talked to another volunteer, and
then she was telling me abouthow she's been working for many
years with RHP, and then now shebrought in her daughter. And
they both work together, and Ijust think that's so wholesome
and sweet. And you know what?The best part about all of this
(09:14):
is that every morning, we'd wakeup at six, and then we'd make
sandwiches for lunch.
And somewhere along the day, wewould go, like, while we're
working, we're gonna eat thesandwiches. And we all had this
inside joke going on that a lotof we would say, you know what?
Let's go. Let's go on a bathroombreak, and which secretly meant,
(09:37):
let's go to McDonald's,McDonald's run, and it was a
ritual now. Like, everybody knewabout it.
And, like, for the full fivedays, we would go to McDonald's
every single day. And on thelast day, so it was our it was
Seth's birthday, so we made hima cookie cake, and we thanked
(09:57):
Andrew for that. He was the GOATfor making that. And he did
that. And then we went to arestaurant to celebrate his
birthday, which is super sweet.
So, yeah. And somewhere inbetween all that, the early
mornings and everything and themini naps on the roof, because,
like, of course, you have to napon the roof. Like, it's so peak.
(10:19):
And, yeah, and the McDonald'srun. I had to study for my Cal
three midterm because it was theday after we get back, And so I
was pulling all nighters whilealso nonstop working, like,
hello.
But, yeah, it was super fun. Andat the end of the day, it was
worth it. And, honestly, Iwouldn't change any of that
(10:41):
because those days felt unreal,and it felt like I truly
mattered. Like, I was helpingout the community, which gave me
a sense of purpose. So that'sall for this episode, and huge
thanks to the Rutherford HousingPartnership and NC State's
(11:01):
alternative service breakprogram for making this trip
possible.
And if you ever get a chance, goon one of these trips because
it's not just about the service.It's about perspective. And
thanks for listening. I'm yourhost, Shraddha. Thank you.
This has been eye on thetriangle from WKNC eighty eight
(11:23):
point one FM HD one raleigh. Ourtheme song is Krakatoa by Noah
Stark. Licensed under CreativeCommons. To relisten to this or
any other episode, visitwtnc.org/podcast or subscribe
wherever you get your podcasts.Thank you for listening.
You are listening to Eye on the Triangle, WKNC's
weekly public affairs programfrom the campus of North
Carolina State University inRaleigh. Any views and opinions
expressed during Eye of Triangledo not represent NC State or
student media. Hello, everyone.I'm Shradha Bhatia. I'm the
(00:26):
public affairs director here atWKNC Eye on the Triangle.
So this episode is all about howeveryone else spent their fall
break catching up on sleep orstudying, and I ended up in a
van full of people heading fivehours away to Rutherford, North
Carolina for an NC State'sAlternative Service Break
program. So we were going thereto do some community service
(00:49):
with the Rutherford HousingPartnership, which helps repairs
homes for people who need it.And I recorded bits along the
way, talked to a few people, andwell, here's what the trip
really felt like. So firstly,the ride there. We started
around five in the evening, soby the time we actually got on
the road, the sun was, like,already setting.
(01:12):
The traffic was so bad, like,really, really bad. We were
supposed to stop for groceries,but we scrapped the plan. We
were like, you know what? We'rerunning late. It's fine.
So and that and and there was amoment with the incident
response truck. Not a crash.Okay. Not a crash. But, like,
close enough that everyone inthe van, like, woke up.
(01:34):
Everyone was dead silent, andthen we started back again. And
in between, I was taking a nap.It was around, like, eight, I
guess. I was, like, taking a napin the van. And suddenly, I woke
up to people talking aboutconspiracy theories.
I was like, you know what? No.This is a real group of people
(01:57):
because, like, we were talkingabout every single thing and
then realized that and somehowwe came to the conclusion that
every conspiracy theory ends upas some kind of insurance fraud.
We're not getting deep intothat, but, like, yeah. Sure.
And then here's some clips fromthe van.
Van (02:16):
Positive. Yes. Okay. When I first got I didn't turn it on
all the way. I thought I did.
Anyway and then I put it indrive, and it started rolling
backwards. I had to roll atruck, but it didn't do
anything. You you hit it? Yeah.
Shradha (03:03):
So ignore our laughs because, like, it was a very
chaotic car ride there. Okay? Sothen we finally reached around,
like, 11PM. Everyone was sotired. So when we finally
reached there, we were supposedto stay at the First Baptist
Church at in Rutherford NC, andwe were gonna stay in the church
(03:25):
basement.
Everyone was so skeptical aboutit because, like, church
basement, are we serious? Andthen, but when we went inside,
it was so warm and cozy. It hadfairy lights and everything. It
was so warm. Like, we were like,you know what?
We're just gonna stay hereforever because, like, it was so
cute. So cut to the morning, wewere all tired still because we
(03:51):
slept on air mattresses, halfdeflated air mattresses.
Anyways, so we were everyday, wewere supposed to get there by,
like, 7AM sharp, but, like, wegot there by we got at the
church by, like, eleven. So wewere like, you know what? We're
gonna go, like, around eight.
So we went there by eight, andwe met the person in charge for
(04:14):
the Housing Partnership. Hisname was Seth, the most sweetest
person I've ever met. Okay? Andthen he was telling us about the
mission of Rutherford HousingPartnership. And their mission
is to eliminate substandardhousing and make sure every
resident in Rutherford Countyhas access to safe and
affordable homes.
They run programs like HousingMatters, where people can even
(04:38):
donate their homes to berenovated and provided to
families in need, literallytransforming lives and
neighborhoods. We helped with,the repair and maintenance work,
the kind of stuff that smallthat seems small in the moment,
but, like, really helps andmakes a huge difference for
(04:59):
someone's everyday comfort. Andduring the whole process, I
interviewed Seth, and here'swhat he had to say.
Seth (05:10):
Well, my name is Seth. I'm with the organization Rutherford
Housing Partnership here inForest City, North Carolina. And
today, we're working on asection eight home that we're
rehabbing and reroofing to haveavailable for the market. Today,
all the students will be workingon demoing and tearing off the
roof and getting prepped fortomorrow to do a little
(05:31):
structural work. Also, they'vebeen inside pulling up old
flooring and tearing down oldceiling and pulling out cabinets
and general cleanup on theproperty.
And then as we continue the nextfour days, we will be reroofing
the whole house and finish thecleanup. If we have time, we'll
get in a little detail, maybe doa little painting too. And
(05:52):
that'll probably be about allwe'll get into on
Shradha (05:54):
this project.
Van (05:55):
I got it. That's fine. Thank you.
Seth (05:56):
You're welcome. One
Shradha (05:58):
of my favorite parts wasn't even the work even though
I got to use, like, power toolsfor the first time and, like,
chain like, learned how to use ahammer, like, properly. I've
never done this before, and itwas such a good experience for
me. But it wasn't about thework. It was about the people
who went with me. And I talkedto a few other students about
(06:19):
why they joined the trip, andsome said to make an impact, and
others said to step out of theircomfort zone.
And by the second night,everyone was just comfortable
with everyone. And we would sitaround after dinner, talk,
laugh, share stories, and therewas this calm sense of purpose.
(06:39):
Like, yeah, we were tired, butit felt good to be tired for
something real because we wereactually making an impact. And
here's what one of thosestudents who volunteered had to
say about it.
Bradley (06:53):
My name is Bradley Huff. I'm a third year in civil
engineering. Right now, I am onthe ASB trip to Rutherford,
North Carolina. I joined ASBbecause I had heard so many
great things about all thedifferent ASB trips, and I
figured, like, now is the besttime to spring into action. I
think that this ASB trip hasbeen really cool, and I think
that the reason why peopleshould join is just because of
(07:14):
the bonds that are formed.
I feel like I've met so manydifferent people that come from
so many different majors, somany different opportunities.
And so while doing this serviceproject, I've performed these
great connections.
Bobby (07:24):
Yeah.
Shradha (07:28):
So here's I also talked to one of the team leads, and
this is what he had to say.
Bobby (07:35):
Hey, guys. This is Bobby. I'm one of the co leaders out
here, me and Lily, and we're upon the roof right now. I'm with
Strato Strato. Yeah.
We're making really goodprogress. We've already got
basically all the stuff off theroof. This year, we brought a
team that's about twice as largeas we normally bring, so we're
(07:57):
making really fast progress onthe roof. So, hopefully, we'll
get this done before the end ofweek. But yeah.
So first day.
Shradha (08:04):
Let's go. And I met this incredible 77 year old
lady. She was super sweet, andshe's been working with RHP, and
here's what she said. Yeah.
Janet (08:24):
Hi. My name is Janet Jolley, and I'm a 77 year old
grounds person for the womenroofers of Rutherford County.
And we're so glad to have thesepeople from state here to well,
they're doing more than justroofs. They're working on the
inside of a house too. And wehope they get a chance to ride
(08:44):
up to Lake Lure and Chimney Rockand see what a hurricane does to
the mountains.
Well, thank you for coming.
Shradha (08:52):
Thank you. Then I also talked to another volunteer, and
then she was telling me abouthow she's been working for many
years with RHP, and then now shebrought in her daughter. And
they both work together, and Ijust think that's so wholesome
and sweet. And you know what?The best part about all of this
(09:14):
is that every morning, we'd wakeup at six, and then we'd make
sandwiches for lunch.
And somewhere along the day, wewould go, like, while we're
working, we're gonna eat thesandwiches. And we all had this
inside joke going on that a lotof we would say, you know what?
Let's go. Let's go on a bathroombreak, and which secretly meant,
(09:37):
let's go to McDonald's,McDonald's run, and it was a
ritual now. Like, everybody knewabout it.
And, like, for the full fivedays, we would go to McDonald's
every single day. And on thelast day, so it was our it was
Seth's birthday, so we made hima cookie cake, and we thanked
(09:57):
Andrew for that. He was the GOATfor making that. And he did
that. And then we went to arestaurant to celebrate his
birthday, which is super sweet.
So, yeah. And somewhere inbetween all that, the early
mornings and everything and themini naps on the roof, because,
like, of course, you have to napon the roof. Like, it's so peak.
(10:19):
And, yeah, and the McDonald'srun. I had to study for my Cal
three midterm because it was theday after we get back, And so I
was pulling all nighters whilealso nonstop working, like,
hello.
But, yeah, it was super fun. Andat the end of the day, it was
worth it. And, honestly, Iwouldn't change any of that
(10:41):
because those days felt unreal,and it felt like I truly
mattered. Like, I was helpingout the community, which gave me
a sense of purpose. So that'sall for this episode, and huge
thanks to the Rutherford HousingPartnership and NC State's
(11:01):
alternative service breakprogram for making this trip
possible.
And if you ever get a chance, goon one of these trips because
it's not just about the service.It's about perspective. And
thanks for listening. I'm yourhost, Shraddha. Thank you.
This has been eye on thetriangle from WKNC eighty eight
(11:23):
point one FM HD one raleigh. Ourtheme song is Krakatoa by Noah
Stark. Licensed under CreativeCommons. To relisten to this or
any other episode, visitwtnc.org/podcast or subscribe
wherever you get your podcasts.Thank you for listening.
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