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Transforming nursing home into residence hall is a challenge for ex-Texan
by Britini Freiboth
At first glance, I stick out like a sore thumb. Usually in stiletto heels and dressed for corporate America, I now stroll the streets of my new home in Curtis, Nebraska on an adventure of morphing a former nursing home and assisted living facility into a state-of-the-art student residence hall called Aggie West.
On the outside, I'm a young, city girl from Dallas, Texas but I grew up in western Washington with what I call my pseudo-farm of 4-H dogs and FFA pigs, so I am not completely foreign to country living. From the first day I stepped into Curtis it felt natural, as I was greeted immediately with open arms and friendly smiles. I was enchanted by the friendly wave as I drove by, relationships with overwhelmingly kind people, the endless beauty of farmlands and the cowboy way.
The opportunity to implement the vision of a man who moved to Curtis after his family lost their farm in the ‘50s, has been such a blessing. My friend and mentor, George F. Garlick, saw an opportunity to revitalize a school and the surrounding community through transforming an empty retirement home into a first-rate residence hall for the students of University of Nebraska's local branch campus, Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA), and without question I jumped on board.
A public-private venture.
The unique relationship of the private venture working in close proximity with a public entity for the betterment of the community not only helps NCTA achieve its goals, but creates a unique model of entrepreneurism in rural Nebraska.
Incorporating the NCTA administration, student organizations, and local businesses, Aggie West has been transformed in less than a year, with students inhabiting the space less than two months after the project began. Aggie West gives students a first-class opportunity to enjoy amenities such as backyard patios, spacious living quarters with new furniture and private bathrooms, activity rooms with big screen TVs and gaming systems, and in the near future, a theater room with a large projection screen for dorm-wide movie nights. Free parking, laundry, and wireless internet are also among the luxuries available to the students living at Aggie West.
An opportunity to make a difference.
Dr. Garlick has always introduced himself as a farm boy from Nebraska and truly epitomizes the expression "your home is where your heart is." Since the community reached out to the Garlicks when the family was in desperate need, Dr. Garlick has regularly returned the hospitality.
At Aggie West, I saw an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the students at NCTA and quickly realized that the community would be greatly impacted as well. With a wide array of leadership training during my years at Washington State University along with business ethics taught by Dr. Garlick, Curtis has become my new home, a place to influence the lives of students, mentor the next generation of leaders, and positively impact Curtis and the surrounding community.
I work as the Student Life Coordinator for the college, managing resident hall assistants and issues that arise, student programming, and encourage student involvement not only on campus, but in the community. It is my goal, during my time in Curtis, to encourage others to invest their time, money, and efforts in our nation's heartland and the town of Curtis.
We have ideas and dreams, all we need to do now is make them a reality. That's exactly what Aggie West is accomplishing.
[Editor’s Note: If you enjoyed this article, you’ll also want to read NCTA: Why graduate with just a sheepskin, when you could have 100 cows? also on Nebraska Rural Living.]
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