Senior biomedical engineering student Caroline Seroka, among her many activities on campus, enjoys something unusual: intentionally running through the clock tower fountains during a thunderstorm.

Seroka is the president of Saint Louis University’s Habitat of Humanity. part of a larger, national non-profit organization that builds afforadble housing for less fortunate families.

Seroka said she has had some great experiences at SLU, but that the simple things are what make it special.

“I think running through the clock tower during a thunderstorm was pretty unique but I’ve been blessed with a lot of great experiences,” Seroka said.

Seroka became involved in Habitat for Humanity her freshman year and has been an active part of the organization ever since.

“I joined Habitat because I caught the bug when building and haven’t been able to drag myself away since,” Seroka said.

Besides the building aspects of Habitat for Humanity, Seroka said that she enjoys the personal connection involved.

“I love working next to the home buyers and hearing about their lives while getting to see a house rise around you,” Seroka said.

Seroka said that due to her service with Habitat for Humanity and her engineering background, she “loves learning to work with the power tools.”

Seroka said that two of her favorite experiences at SLU were leading trips with Habitat to Georgetown, S.C., and West Palm Beach, Fla. She became a self-proclaimed professional roofer during the time she spent in each city, where she said she learned “how to drive a roofing nail in only two hits.”

Aside from Habitat for Humanity, Seroka stays involved with SLU Campus Ministry activities. Seroka leads music at the Griesdieck Hall mass every Wednesday evening and is on the advisory board for the annual Encounter retreat.

Seroka said that she has never missed a mass at Greisdieck, and that she loves being in Campus Ministry, whether it is helping out with mass or just stopping by the Eckelkamp Center for Campus Ministry.

“It’s a wonderful community that welcomed me into mass and on the Encounter retreat that I made in spring of freshman year,” Seroka said.

Seroka said another one of her favorite experiences was a trip she took to Honduras during her freshman year with the SLU Global Medical Brigades. It was her first time traveling  outside of the United States.

“We saw so much eye opening stuff– poverty and disease but also with the joy and enthusiasm of the people,”Seroka said.

Seroka also is on the executive board for Tau Beta Epsilon, the official engineering honor society at Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology, and works at Fresh Gatherings Cafe, on the Health Sciences Campus. She also tutors students every week.

Seroka said she refrains from giving advice to students about what activities to do on campus and leaves the fountains and thunderstorms to the experts.