International students at USF are honored to serve a military spouse

By Jessica Vander Velde, Times staff writer
In print: Sunday, May 11, 2008

Patrisia Aquino, 47, left, and Yorling Zelaya, 33, right, get a hug from Pat Woodham, 65, center, after volunteers from Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay cleaned and made repairs to Woodham’s home as part of Military Spouse Appreciation Day.
	[DANIEL WALLACE | Times]

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TAMPA — It's Pat Woodham's weekend.

She didn't ask for it. All the attention makes her nervous. But 18 international students at the University of South Florida decided it was her turn.

On Saturday, the volunteers repaired, repainted and cleaned Woodham's dilapidated mobile home as part of Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay's Heroes at Home program.

They picked Woodham's home in honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day, which was Friday. She's married to Daniel Woodham, an Army veteran who served in Korea from 1970 to 1971.

She'll continue celebrating today, with a clean home and plans with her 41-year-old daughter for Mother's Day.

"It's wonderful," said Pat Woodham, 65. "Fancy a bunch of people giving up their Saturday morning for an old codger like me."

Woodham, who suffers from back pain, arthritis and diabetes, is not able to clean or repair her home, so her residence of about five years became cluttered.

Kitchen counters were hidden under piles of dishes, and mounds of clothes and books made it difficult to walk through the living room. In a back room, fleas and roaches infested a hole in the floor.

"We haven't done anything to it because we don't have the money," she said.

The repairs cost about $5,000, paid for by the Sears Holding Co. The volunteers came from USF's Cooperative Association of States for Scholarships program, a six-month program that brings adult students from Latin American countries to the United States.

The students started scrubbing, raking and painting at 7 a.m. Saturday. By noon, most of the exterior was covered in a fresh coat of beige paint, and Renan Galo, 35, was taking a break in the shade.

Though it was hot painting in the full sun, he said he's happy to do the work.

"We're here with our hearts," he said in Spanish.

Program official Olga Gonzalez said she thought it was great that students from other countries wanted to help an American veteran.

Reina Julia Murcia, 35, worked in the kitchen. She's a social worker in El Salvador who helps with disaster recovery after earthquakes and floods strike.

She recently helped paint a home where a young boy with cancer lived, and she was hooked. She immediately signed up for the next project.

"I enjoy my work when I'm helping others," she said.

Jessica Vander Velde can be reached at jvandervelde@sptimes.com or (813) 661-2443.