Rita Williams, owner of Williams’ Cafe on Hopkins Street, sat at a table in her restaurant Saturday morning with an incredulous look on her face. In a matter of hours, her business and livelihood had received a colorful facelift, trading its dilapidated look for an eye-catching green.

“This building has gone down so much and needed help so badly,” Williams said, her gaze wandering toward a group of passers-by who dropped in to check out her new place. “But it’s much better now. It’s a big change.”

With a wide smile, she added: “I’m so glad, I don’t know what to do.”

Earl Smith, professor at Wake Forest University, and Maggie Mariani, senior at Colgate University in New York paint a building adjacent to the Williams' Cafe on Hopkins Street Saturday afternoon. JIM MUSTIAN / THE DAILY IBERIAN Advertisement

To thank was a group of about two dozen college students from northern universities who spent three days in New Iberia freshening things up not only around the cafe but at two houses in the West End. The students, an energized mix of sociology and anthropology majors from Colgate University in New York and Wake Forest University in North Carolina, are completing a course that deals with socioeconomic issues in the Deep South.

New Iberia was just one stop along the way. The group was invited to lend a hand in the West End revitalization by Southern Mutual Help Association, said Judy Herring, the organization’s director of family and community development.

Herring said Colgate students began coming to New Iberia after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.

“Now, they said ‘What’s next?’,” Herring said. “And we said, ‘The revitalization.’ ”

At Williams’ Cafe, the volunteers pulled weeds and vines growing on all sides of the building. They caulked cracks and completely re-painted it, too, even adding a fresh coat to a smaller building adjacent to the cafe used for storage.

While Williams said she could not thank the volunteers enough for their efforts, she started by rewarding them with some barbecue from her kitchen.

Meanwhile, others painted a house on La-Salle Street about three blocks away.

While the students worked up a sweat and stained their clothes with paint, they also were required to complete homework assignments during the project. In one assignment, the students examined im-migration in New Iberia for a presentation.

“It’s really interesting,” said Angela Hat-tery, professor of sociology at Wake Forest. “Many of these kids had never been in the Deep South before.”

Cristina Smith of Maryland, a senior at Colgate, said she enjoyed her time in New Iberia, but added it was a bit too warm for her liking.

“They told us we lucked out though,” she said. “I guess it could have been even hotter.”