Norwich students on TV show

A former Norwich student and an employee's son helped demolish a family's hardship and build a new life for them while participating in the ABC show "Extreme Home Makeover."

Chris Amell, a former student and son of Sandy Dukette, who works in the development and alumni relations department, and Korey Bean, son of Kathleen Bean, who works in the financial affairs department, helped build a new home for the Marshall family in Lyme, N.H., on Oct. 1 and 2.

"Jay and Elena Marshall have eight children. A few years ago they moved into what they thought was a wonderful home. After some time they realized some major problems, rotting wood, large amounts of mold and carbon monoxide leaks. When they were going to put money into the home for repairs, their son Cameron was diagnosed with leukemia," according to the New Hampshire living Web site.

"The show gave me a chance to change a family's life, and I will never lose that memory," said Korey Bean.

 "The experience helps me realize the importance of helping people when they are in need of it. It opened my eyes to the problems that everyday people have and the importance of them getting the help they need. To change someone's life that much really is amazing," said Chris Amell.

The two never got to meet any of the stars of the show because they were so busy filming, but they did see Paige Hemmis and Michael Moloney, who are on the show.

"The site was hectic, hundreds of people running around trying to get everything done in a short amount of time. There was a lot of running around and yelling and laughter, but it was probably one of the most organized job sites I have ever been on," Bean said.

"The site was crazy and hectic there were always a hundred people around; always very crowded, very organized and well run though," Amell said.

The hours the two had to work were very odd. "We showed up for work at 5 p.m. on Thursday the first and they let us back on the site at 4 a.m. on Friday morning because they were behind and we worked the whole day before at our normal jobs so we were up for over 24 straight hours so everyone was very tired and sore," Amell said.

"The hours that I was there were very long and tiring. I arrived at around 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon and I left around 10 p.m. Friday night without any sleep," Bean said.

The workers on the show were not all experienced, which added another challenge.

"It was a mix of people that had a lot of carpentry experience and people that had no experience," Amell said. "Everyone worked well together and did the best that they could."

"All of the other workers were amazing. Everyone had a smile on their face even though they had been there for so long because they knew it was for a very good cause. Everyone was having a very good time," Bean said.