Matt Traylor
Matt Traylor began volunteering for Habitat for Humanity East Bay last summer at the Edes Avenue development in Oakland. Soon after our Site Superintendent, Paul, recognized Matt's outstanding leadership abilities and promoted him to volunteer Crew Leader. A PhD student at the University of California at Berkeley, Matt juggles his time between lab work and volunteering. We greatly appreciate Matt and all the time and energy he has dedicated to Habitat for Humanity.
Please tell us about yourself. What are you studying in college?
I’m originally from a small town in Indiana called Vincennes. I studied chemical engineering at Purdue University and narrowly chose the PhD program in chemical engineering at UC Berkeley over the Peace Corps where I would have been teaching high school science in Ghana. My research involves combining engineering and biology where I am working to replicate the essential metabolic functions of the human liver on a chip for quicker, cheaper drug development.
How did you begin volunteering for Habitat for Humanity?
My first experience with Habitat was last July when Habitat International received a grant from General Mills to send groups of young people to New Orleans to learn about Habitat, the need for housing in the Gulf, and to do some building. This was an amazing experience for me. I was able to see first hand the devastation that Hurricane Katrina created and the inadequate response that has left New Orleans in shambles even one year later. From that experience, I gained a greater appreciation for the principle that every person has a right to simple, decent, housing and for the method that Habitat for Humanity has developed to help fulfill that need. When I came back to Berkeley, I started working with Habitat East Bay at the East Oakland site.
"I was able to see first hand the devastation that Hurricane Katrina created and the inadequate response that has left New Orleans in shambles even one year later."
Can you describe a favorite experience you have volunteering with Habitat?
I love working with Habitat East Bay. I’ve been around some of the nicest, hardest-working people that I have ever met. My favorite experience, however, is when I come on site in the morning and I see things that I built being integrated into the houses. I love knowing that the rebar I put together is in the foundation of some of the houses. I like seeing walls go up on top of a sub floor that I helped put down. It’s amazing to look at a Habitat house and think about how many volunteer hours so many people have put in to build them.
What is your favorite tool to work with??
By far, my favorite tool is the shovel. I spend all day in the science lab thinking about research, and I enjoy the wonderful simplicity of having someone tell me where to dig a hole and then doing it.
