June 15, 2009

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AUSTIN, Texas -- Trent Carter, an assistant athletic trainer for Men's Tennis, looked right at home up on a ladder, and that's because he was. Carter grew up in Missouri, and spent some of his free time restoring old, Civil War-era homes.

Those skills came in handy this past weekend, when Carter joined a few other Texas student-athletes and coaches in East Austin to help build a new Habitat for Humanity home. The Austin-area Habitat for Humanity chapter is developing a neighborhood off 51st Street, and by the end of the year will have built 25 new houses.

Carter, along with Softball's Tina Boutelle and Shelby Savony, helped build the latest one, which was made possible by funding from Bank of America.

Boutelle and Savony took turns with a paint roller, while Carter stood tall on the ladder with sandpaper and spackle.

"I've heard about people doing this before," Savony said. "I think it's a great experience, and something we should all be involved in."

Habitat for Humanity homes are built from the foundation up, and have technical features, along with landscape and design elements, that make the houses energy and water efficient. All homes receive four stars under the Austin Energy Green Building program, and receive five stars under the Energy Star Program.

The building project continues every Saturday through July, and UT student-athletes and coaches will be involved all summer.

"It's just really cool," Boutelle said. "I'm happy to be here, working for this cause."