With graduation looming, seniors are finally preparing for their departures from the ivory tower. While some are scrambling to find a job in an increasingly frightening economy or hoping to leap back into school, others will be celebrating commencement with adventures such as elaborate trips across the world.

Three seniors — Anne-Lise Cossart, Max Kraft and Carlie Pietsch — will be traveling from Providence, R.I., to San Francisco, Calif., over two and a half months, making several pit stops along the way to work at construction sites for affordable housing. For this challenging trip, they will also be trading the ease of a motor vehicle for bikes.

These three students are some of the newest members of the Bike and Build Team. According to the organization, Bike and Build “raises money for and awareness of affordable housing efforts through cross country cycling trips. Our events act as a catalyst to build homes, foster the spirit of service, and empower young adults.”

Founded in 2002 by Marc Bush, Bike and Build will be sending eight teams of approximately 30 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 across the country this summer. Though the schedules of each team differ, teams usually bike for six days at a time — pausing on the seventh day to work at an affordable housing site.

Before the trip begins, each team member is required to raise $4,000 in donations. According to Brendan Newman, one of the team leaders of the 2009 Providence to San Francisco trip, Bike and Build raised half a million dollars last year for affordable housing.

Though some readers may wonder why four reasonable human beings would want to bike 4,000 miles, the three Cornell seniors voiced excitement at the prospect of biking across the country.

“For me, I had been thinking about biking across Europe,” Cossart said.

Kraft agreed, “I’ve always wanted to go on a big bike trip, and I wanted to take some time off after graduating to explore.”

Last spring, Kraft, Cossart and Pietsch were taking a physics course together. Pietsch had become interested in Bike and Build after hearing that an acquaintance was embarking on a similar trip for autism with the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity.

“When Carlie [Pietsch] told us about the trip, we all knew we wanted to sign up,” Kraft said.

As much as the seniors are excited about the physical feat ahead of them, they also look forward to the service-oriented aspects of the trip. Indeed, Kraft describes Bike and Build as “a great way to combine service and activity and travel and do something for a cause all at the same time.”

As they journey, they will stop at towns, giving presentations on bicycle safety for children and ones on affordable housing for the adults.

“I think the biggest effect is getting people to care,” Pietsch said. “The world is too blasé. … If you can get someone interested in one crisis … they can join their local habitat.”

Pietsch, Kraft and Cossart also discussed the importance of meeting people for whom finances are a major struggle. Melanie Adamsky ’09, who completed the Bike and Build trip during the summer of 2007, recalled similar sentiments from her own journey.

“The trips are designed to go through the very rural, poor areas of the country where this problem [of affordable housing] is real,” she said. “You don’t see anyone in a good situation. [They are] sacrificing education [and] healthcare to pay for a house that is too small anyway.”

The lack of affordable housing in the United States paints a dreary picture. According to Habitat for Humanity Affordable Housing Statistics, which cited reports from 2003 and 2004, millions of American households face such problems as cost burdens and overcrowding. One can only imagine how the recent financial crisis has exacerbated these preexisting problems.

Kraft, Pietsch and Cossart have researched affordable housing as preparation and all three emphasized the central importance of this issue. Pietsch described learning about households that spend more than 50 percent of their outcome on rent and must sacrifice food and healthcare to remain in a stable home.

“Affordable housing is one of the basic necessities of life,” Cossart said.

Kraft agreed, “Stability comes from the home.”

As the start date of the trip nears, Cossart, Kraft and Pietsch are simultaneously focusing on other aspects of preparation for the trip. Surprisingly, they described fundraising as the most daunting task, rather than the physical prep.

Cossart said she is “emailing everybody [she] knows” and constantly keeps a list of potential donors in her pocket so she is always ready to jot down a new name should an idea pop into her head. The seniors have each written their own fundraising letter and are scrambling to raise money by contacting friends, family and local businesses. If a participant does not raise at least $2,000 of the necessary $4,000 by April, his or her spot will be forfeited. Luckily, Pietsch had already met her goal of $4,000.

In addition to fundraising, the students are also required to ride 500 miles before the beginning of the summer and spend at least eight hours volunteering on a construction site for a local affordable housing group.

As Ithaca winters are not the most conducive to long-distance biking, Cossart, Pietsch and Kraft have made due with other activities. For instance, Cossart has been cross-country skiing through Ithaca snow.

Along with yoga and weight training, Pietsch, a triathlete, uses rollers, a device which allows her to stationary bike while still working on essential elements of biking, such as balance.

Kraft said simply, “I’m just a really active guy.”

Even with a seemingly endless list of preparation tasks still ahead, Kraft, Pietsch and Cossart exhibited undeniable enthusiasm for the ride.

“This is about the coolest experience that I could have before starting my first job,” Cossart said.

Looking back on her own trip, Adamsky described the importance of Bike and Build.

“I think people kind of shy away from these kind of things,” she said. “No matter how small your contribution, you are making a difference. … It sounds like a crazy thing, but this kind of experience is good for everybody.” Getting excited for Bike and Build