Sue Ernst has been volunteering with Habitat since 2003. Sue had tried to volunteer with Habitat for years, but was contacting Habitat for Humanity International's offices in Georgia, because she didn't realize that there was a local affiliate on Cape Cod. Once Sue found a build site in her area - in fact, right in her neighborhood - she was able to dive into volunteer work.

Sue was no stranger to working with her hands, and construction work came easily to her. Both her father and grandfather encouraged her to build when she was growing up. Her grandfather, an architectural engineer who designed bridges, would "think stuff up and then make it for us." He also encouraged Sue and her four siblings to help with his boat, a 42-foot wooden Matthews Cabin Cruiser, which he kept in tip-top shape. Sue also remembers her father building, fixing, and repairing, and always trying to get the kids involved. Sue feels this influence led to her love of carpentry. "I like putting stuff together. I like power tools. And I like teaching other people how to do it."

After college, Sue decided to pursue an atypical career path. Her husband and his friends, graduates of Mass Maritime Academy, encouraged her to go to sea rather than graduate school. The seafaring life turned out to suit her. "I liked the lifestyle, I liked the work, and I liked being outdoors." She was a tugboat Deck Hand, and her first job was for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, working on the catamaran Lulu, which carried the famous Alvin submersible. Sue spent fifteen years at sea, working her way up from a Deck Hand to an Able Seaman, on tugboats pushing oil barges around the east coast from Virginia to Maine, and in the Gulf of Mexico from Houston to Port Everglades. She then spent another fifteen years in the marine transportation field working at terminals and docks.

These days, Sue keeps busy as a Habitat volunteer, working in her garden, and with many musical pursuits. "Oh, my gosh, I have so much music going on!" She is part of the Falmouth Chorale, the Falmouth Chamber Chorale, and the Greater Falmouth Mostly All Male Men's Choir. She is also the director of her church choir, as well as a member of Belle Weather, a female a cappella group. Belle Weather performed at the recent dedication ceremony at Glenwood Avenue, and attendees were talking about their renditions of "We Will Build This House" and "Let Nothing Evil Cross this Door" for days. Not every Habitat volunteer can claim to have both built the home and also performed at the dedication ceremony!

Some of Sue's favorite volunteer experiences with Habitat have been on Women Build homes. She remembers in particular the Women Build in Mashpee, where she was the House Leader. Sue considered part of her job to be getting the house built, but she also felt it was important to teach people new skills. She wanted to make sure that everyone who participated felt they were a part of the action, no matter what their skill level. Sometimes this meant she had to come up with some creative tasks to hand out! "It made it fun for me to keep everyone involved. It was my job to make sure everyone was occupied and everyone was glad to be there." Sue's Habitat philosophy? Simple: "Everyone can be important. Everyone can be helpful - and that makes them important."