Bryan Reaka, a leader for Western Kentucky University’s Habitat for Humanity campus center, sits outside of the Environmental Sciences and Technology building after grilling for his Habitat members on Wednesday, April 29.

Bryan Reaka leads a group of WKU Habitat for Humanity volunteers at the Bowling Green Hazardous Waste Day on Saturday, April 25. The volunteers arrived at 7 AM to work until around 2 PM.

A practicing Catholic, Bryan Reaka goes to daily Mass as often as he can and also attends Adoration. He frequently visits the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center, getting involved with the students and the community, attending the regular Thursday dinners and praise and worship nights. “My faith is my number one priority,” Reaka said. “I am always trying to find new ways to strengthen my prayer life.”

Bryan Reaka works with many volunteers at the Hazardous Waste Day on Saturday, April 25. At the event was WKU Habitat members and Bowling Green inmates, who were doing volunteer work for the community.

Bryan Reaka prepares food for Habitat’s end-of-the-year celebration, grilling hamburgers and hot dogs for all of the members that were able to attend. “Bryan is such a pure soul,” Ella Ransen said, a member of Habitat and a student at WKU. “He loves to be involved with us and everything we do.”

While meeting with the Habitat for Humanity officers, Reaka keeps his yearly calendar open to the upcoming month, making note of important dates as the semester comes to an end for students and Habitat. “We’ve had a busy and exciting year,” Reaka said. “Everyone has been really involved, or as involved as they can be. The officers have done a fantastic job leading their peers.”

Bryan Reaka shows Brighton Dale, a WKU volunteer, how to properly stack good paint cans at the Hazardous Waste Day on Saturday, April 25. Some people who bring items want to just get rid of them, so if the volunteers find good paint, they keep them to the side so they can eventually be used.

Reaka meets with the Habitat for Humanity executive officers on Sunday, April 12 to discuss the rest of the semester, planning specifically for the Hazardous Waste Day and the end-of-the-year celebration. Reaka invites the officers to his house and cooks them a meal for them to share together before the discussion begins.

Reaka is also a professor as Western Kentucky University, which is how he got involved with the campus’s Habitat. He teaches meat processing and engineering. “I like to dabble in a little bit of everything,” Reaka said. “Keeps me on my toes.”

Bryan Reaka sits with students at the Habitat for Humanity end-of-the-year celebration as they discuss their favorite memories from the school year.