A group of students at Warren Wilson College traded textbooks and study guides for paintbrushes and power tools this semester, opting to spend their cherished collegiate experience in service to others.

Maeve Williams, a sophomore in Environmental Studies and student leader on the college’s Construction Crew, wanted a project that would provide students with real hands-on experience, like building an eco-friendly tiny home.

Then, on September 27, 2024, as Helene barreled through WNC, the project took on new meaning.

Williams was one of 10 students who stayed on campus during the storm and its aftermath to help keep the college's essential services running. She said the experience showed her the power of community and made her want to channel a sense of "shared responsibility and resilience into something lasting."

In just two months of community outreach, Williams and a group of students earned enough money and donated materials to turn a recycled trailer into a fully-equipped livable home.

WWC students secured donations from dozens of local and regional businesses. | Photo via Warren Wilson College

Beyond being well-designed with high-quality materials, comfortable, and stylish, the home has eco-friendly design features like its insulation and solar panels. The students even incorporated the college's signature pine tree logo in the iron railings of the loft to carry a piece of the institution into the home's next chapter.

BeLoved Asheville worked with the student group to ensure the home went to someone in the community who had lost everything in the hurricane.

“This house stands for so much more than shelter,” Williams said during the home's dedication ceremony. "It stands for climate resilience. For community. For education that doesn’t just stay in the classroom."

The tiny home project has now expanded the scope of the college's Construction Crew, and for Williams, it expanded her educational interests as she's now pursuing a second major in business.

"(The project) proves something essential," Williams said, "environmental education works best when it’s hands-on and human.”

Bonus: Tour the inside of the home with Maeve.