Faizan Ahmad
Berry Scholar Program Class of 2009

Hull Grant Experience: Internship with the Alternative Energy Board of Pakistan

Faizan returned to his native Pakistan to complete an internship in conjunction with UD’s ETHOS program. He worked on installing and repairing home solar powered electricity units provided by the government to homes in rural desert Pakistani villages. He was also assigned to help streamline the inspection protocol for new solar home systems being installed in villages by private contractors.

Potable water is extremely scarce in the tough conditions of the Thar desert, and Faizan’s efforts helped provide solar powered sills to residents of the village, which filter the highly saline water to make it more potable. These solar powered sills have the potential to make a huge impact on the overall health and quality of life in the desert villages. Faizan says, “The various projects initiated by the government of Pakistan through AEDB show great promise for improving the standards of living of the poorest Pakistanis living in remote areas.”

Lori Hanna
Berry Scholar Program Class of 2008

Hull Grant Experience: Bringing Medical Sterilization Equipment to Rural Nicaragua

Lori spent ten days in Nicaragua with other UD students and a professor doing hands-on, first person research for her Honors Thesis in Mechanical Engineering. She spent most of her time completing interviews with healthcare workers in hospitals and clinic and then applying what she learned to quantitative testing research developing solar powered cookers (autoclaves) which could be used for medical sterilization. The lack of electricity in rural clinics is a huge impediment to proper medical care, making even rudimentary sterilization of medical equipment extremely difficult.  Lori explains, “All of the clinic nurses were extremely interested in my project and would love to have a solar autoclave. As is, they have to travel long distances to sterilize instruments at the health centers. Often, this can only happen once a week, so if the clinic has more than one birth or emergency in a week, they must send patients away.”

While in Nicaragua, Lori was able to test a prototype, and is still actively working on the project back at UD. She hopes to extend the project by developing a business plan for the manufacture and sale of the autoclaves by a Nicaraguan's women group. Lori summarizes her experience by saying, “Besides gaining all of this knowledge and experience, the trip allowed me to explore my passions. I built relationships with local people, and I was able to explore my personal values. Professionally, this experience allowed me to get a first-hand account of how things operate with few resources.  We had limited resources in conducting our testing, the health clinics have limited capability to perform their functions, and even the hospitals were constantly struggling for money. Exposure to this created immense appreciation.  Overcoming this myself, as well as seeing others overcome it, was very inspiring.”

Michael Horwath
Berry Scholar Program Class of 2009

Hull Grant Experience: Zambia Immersion (Focus on Medicine and Health)

 Mike spent seven weeks in Zambia through UD’s Center for Social Concern Summer Immersion Program, in which he stayed in the rural village of Lubwe working on sustainable projects which, he says, strived “to help groups in the community help themselves.” Mike, who is planning a career in medicine, made medicine and health the focus of his individual time in Zambia. He volunteered at the local village hospital, observing the pharmacy, children’s ward, and laboratory.

The first-hand experience of the extreme difficulties the rural hospital faced in trying to combat malaria, HIV, cholera, and TB especially affected Mike. He says, “Some of my experiences in the hospital really cut deep. Intellectually I could know that thousands of people die of preventable diseases in developing nations every day, but it is a different thing entirely when it is happening next to you. Observing in the hospital inspired me in two ways:  first, a sense of urgency at how much suffering there is, and how much needs to be done, and secondly, optimism at how a real difference can be made by a hospital like Lubwe Mission with even a minimum of technology and funding.”

While back at UD, Mike is currently working on an exciting project that was a direct result of his time in Zambia. The community of sisters in Lubwe is currently growing a plant called the Moringa tree, about which exists “a large body of traditions, anecdotes, and scientific reports on the medicinal properties of Moringa, some of which are better verified than others.”  Mike brought back some Moringa tree seeds from Zambia, and he now has half a dozen small trees. He elaborates, “With the help of the Chemistry Department at UD I am currently investigating one reported antibiotic chemical in particular (pterygospermin). This will likely be my honors thesis project, and I have spent time researching what is already known. “

Katie May
Berry Scholar Program Class of 2008

Hull Grant Experience: Anthropological Research in Peru

Katie spent over two months in Peru doing original research for her Honors Thesis, “If You Believe It, It Will Cure You: Indigenous Traditions of Catholic Immigrants from the Mountains in 21^st Century Trujillo, Peru.” The amount of research she was able to accomplish is especially exciting since there is very little academic research on her chosen subject to begin with.

Because of the opportunity for her to form deep relationships with the residents of the rural Peruvian village of Trujillo, Katie’s daily interactions and interviews with individuals and groups provided her with vast data to incorporate into her thesis. Aside from this direct data, Katie also spent her time in Peru volunteering at a school, directing a choir, and teaching private music lessons. Katie explains, “The personal interactions and service work were invaluable to my understanding of the Peruvians and this understanding is reflected in my thesis”.

Doug Vonderhaar
Honors Program Class of 2008

Hull Grant Experience: Biology Research in Maui, Hawaii and the Republic of Palau

Doug spent seven weeks in the Pacific islands of Maui and Palau, conducting research in tropical streams in order to be able to assess stream quality, with the hope that training local people in basic techniques will lead to future self sufficiency of environmental monitoring. All this field research and continued laboratory analysis back at UD will form his Honors Thesis. Doug elaborates that while in Palau he also “worked with the government and national museum officials to lay the groundwork for their own biomonitoring program. This is a big step for a developing nation such as the Republic of Palau. As they continue to become more developed (i.e. highways and new capitol building), it is imperative that they do not forget the environmental repercussions that come along with population pressures.”

One of the highlights of the trip for Doug was scuba diving in order to perform lab work. He shares, “I was able to swim with dozens of sharks, turtles, and huge fish all among huge and beautiful coral reefs. This was the greatest experience of my life and showed why it is so critical that freshwater ecosystems be maintained through the type of research that we are conducting. Those freshwater streams flow into the mangroves and inevitably into the coral reef systems near shore. Sedimentation and silt run-off will only ruin Palau’s scuba diving industry, which is among the best in the world.”

Alyssa Wagner
Berry Scholar Program Class of 2009

Hull Grant Experience: Living, Studying, and Interning in the Dominican Republic

Alyssa used her Hull Grant to live with a host family for a semester in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. She spent her time taking classes at three different universities, working at an internship with a non-governmental organization funded by Verizon, and teaching literacy classes in Spanish to Haitian immigrants in the poorest areas of the city. Academically, she took university courses on Ecology, Sustainable Development, the History of the Dominican Republic, and Cultural Anthropology.  By the end of her stay, as part of her internship Alyssa completed a project comparing the environmental conditions in the poorest areas of the city and their affects on health compared with those conditions on a national level.

Alyssa is currently connecting her experience in the DR with her studies and service back at UD. She says, “My listening and speaking skills in Spanish have increased so much because of the immersion I had in the DR. Now I feel comfortable speaking with any native Spanish speaker, and I am able to really help people who only speak Spanish. This semester I’m teaching English to two recently arrived Mexican immigrants who want to learn so that they can help their daughter with her homework and to advance their job possibilities.”  The Hull Grant experience also helped give Alyssa a clearer view on what she might want to pursue after UD: “I understand that education is one of the bases of the pyramid of well-being, so to speak, since so much of a person’s understanding of the world rests upon their education. I would like to work with education in the future in some capacity, especially in developing countries.”