By Nammi Bhagvandoss

nbhagvandoss@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — Nine students from the University of New Hampshire at Durham are spending their spring break this week working on a Neosho Area Habitat for Humanity house.

Their university offers an alternative spring-break challenge program, with students having to apply and be selected to participate.

Once the students are selected, they decide where to volunteer during spring break.

“This is the first time anyone has come to Neosho,” said Devin Ryan, 21, one of the students.

Other students have gone to Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia to volunteer with various service projects.

Michaella Landry, 20, said she worked on a Habitat for Humanity project during last year’s spring break, and she decided to do it again this year in Neosho.

“It’s physically demanding, and you actually see your result immediately,” she said.

Ashley Ellis, 20, said that last year during spring break, she went to Jackson, Miss., where she worked in a soup kitchen and painted at a community center.

Ryan said she liked the idea of coming to Neosho because she liked the name, which she has learned means the city of springs.

“It was one of the farthest places,” Ellis said. “We thought it was cool because it was Missouri.”

While in Missouri, the students have painted, and worked on vinyl siding, drywall and soffit construction.

Larry Swift, the Neosho organization’s treasurer, said eight female students and one male student from the University of New Hampshire arrived Sunday night.

“They’re working on the siding, building a back porch,” Swift said. “They’ve done some painting.”