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BY ABBY FOX
Jacqui Watts knew during her last semester at Boston University this spring that she wanted to get out of the house and do something fun, and interesting, after graduation.
So when the East Greenwich resident (and 2005 EGHS grad) received her bachelor’s degree last Sunday, following four years of studying biology and psychology, Watts could tell her friends that she had arranged a pretty cool plan for the summer – biking all the way to Santa Barbara, Calif., through bikeandbuild.org, and helping build affordable housing along the way.
Watts is in the final phase of paying for her trip for Bike and Build, by working to raise $4,000, which she said goes toward the organization’s affordable housing projects. She’ll be helping to build houses in seven cities during her 3,701-mile journey, from June 17 through late August.
People are welcome to follow the group’s progress, from Massachusetts, to New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. And of course, to donate:
www.bikeandbuild.org/cms/content/view/118/278/, through the web site.
“I’ve been to California once,” she said. “I haven’t seen a lot of the country, and there’s no better way than on a bike.”
Watts is fairly athletic, and doesn’t seem afraid of the prospect of biking some 70 miles per day, on average. Her altruistic motivation, to call attention to affordable housing and work on it herself, seems to be as much or more of a reason for going, as the exercise.
“It should be everyone’s basic right, to live in a home,” she said. “A lot of people spend more than 50 percent of their income on their house, and a lot of people can’t afford a home. The minimum wage doesn’t match up with inflation and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to own or rent a home. It’s definitely becoming more of an issue.”
Watts said she was also drawn to the program because the bikers themselves can choose where some of their raised money goes – which projects in which communities, and for the chance to meet people from all over the United States.
“It’s definitely pretty well-organized,” she said.
The Grand Canyon, the Midwest and the west coast are all places she’s looking forward to checking out, not only for curiosity’s sake, but to help her decide where she may want to apply to medical school after taking the MCATs this fall.
“I can’t imagine going into medical school right now [this year],” she said. “It’s important to take time, explore, and see what my options are.”
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