By Brandon Seng
ConnectMichigan Alliance
From discovering a need to developing a solution, the students of Kettering University take pride in being involved in every aspect of their service projects. Kettering’s Engineers Without Borders (EWB) program allows them to do just that, and provide their community with services made capable only through these students’ unique talents.
Recently, EWB has completed a program called Climbing Through Flint. Through this program, students spent time on the playgrounds of elementary schools in the Flint area, where they designed and constructed climbing walls for each of them. An estimated 800 volunteer hours were tallied during the actual building portion of the project, and resulted in high quality playground equipment that all Flint students could be proud of.
Climbing Through Flint offered EWB an opportunity to give back to the community that houses Kettering, and leave a lasting impression on the children in that community. Among the students leading this project was current Kettering Junior and EWB President, Joey Campbell. Joey was integral in the completion of the Climbing Through Flint project, and has since been inspired to pursue deeper involvement, assisting in the expansion of Engineers Without Borders.
“EWB has been the most rewarding experience I have had at Kettering,” said Campbell. “Being involved with every aspect of a project makes it more meaningful than a one day volunteering effort.”
Joey recalls being moved by the reaction of the children of Flint, and feels that his experience at Kettering will motivate him to be civically involved for the rest of his life.
Currently EWB is proving that they are not limited to solving Michigan problems, and are reaching out to 270 residents in the village of Coahulia, Mexico. Here, the small rain-fed reservoir which provides the village with their only means of water has become contaminated with bacteria and protozoa, rendering it unsafe for consumption. Kettering students have proposed several solutions to this problem that include digging a new well, or installing a pump that they have built, which would use atmospheric pressure deliver safe water to Coahulia.
Dr. Laura Sullivan advises this program, and is dedicated to the cause of providing Kettering’s inspiring engineers with valuable service-learning opportunities. Through harnessing these students’ specialized talent, EWB has the ability to make a deep, lasting impact on those they serve. Through programs like EWB, Michigan’s higher education institutions are climbing to new heights, continuing the advancement of a national movement toward civic engagement and social responsibility. |
