Becca Crocker and Chris Gilman are on the senior design project that installed a sustainable energy source for lighting in a Nicaraguan school. The team designed a wind turbine here and brought components to Nicaragua to construct the system on-site over spring break. All the details about their trip show their dedication to using creative design for sustainable energy in the interests of helping others. But what was completing this project like without the communication technology every college student is used to?

Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua  is very remote, an island where electricity is scarce. Email exchanges in Spanish with a local engineer took months. Therefore, this means of information-gathering that could have included digital photos and so forth was impractical. Becca was sent in person in the fall to analyze the site and take photos for the design team.  For example, she discovered the school was in a valley, a fact that determined the height of a tree platform needed for mounting the wind turbine.

Isolation was a feature of the work, though tempered with the friendliness of the people and the beauty of the surroundings. "I couldn't get in touch with my family until I returned to Houston," said Becca about her first trip. Chris found he could notify his mom of his arrival only by asking the guide to make the call. Obviously, the people back at Valpo wouldn't be getting photos send via cell phone of the team's progress.

Yes, the island had internet cafes in the area populated by visitors—very inexpensive compared to European ones, noted Becca. However, the internet was down on the one computer in their part of the island. Becca and Chris commented on the patience of the people in waiting for service restoration (more than a week)—a contrast to consternation here over a brief outage.

"But it was almost nice to be away from all that technology," Chris said. "It allowed us to focus without distractions on each other, the project, and the people."

The friendliness and appreciation of the people impressed Becca and Chris. With the successful completion of the project—the lights went on in the village school—36 adults from 86 families could now begin evening education they were looking forward to. Their excitement is the essence of engineering for Chris—the idea of working on a big project for people. "I had no idea of the impact it would make. The people wanted it so much," noted Chris.

The project is a great example of "education supporting education," according to Becca. Both returned with copies of a letter of appreciation presented by the village and signed by many residents.

Becca will attend law school at the University of Michigan with the intention of practicing patent law, an area that requires a degree in engineering. Chris has a job with Sargent and Lundy in Chicago where he hopes to specialize in power.