50 Days until I'm on my way to the Kilimanjaro airport for the second time :) The semester has been flying by, and can't believe I'll be registering for my LAST fall semester pretty soon! Having my main trip costs to Tanzania covered, I decided I wanted to try and fundraise more in order to help the organizations I'm working with. I've been told the main needs for Twende and GCS are auto-shading helmets for welding and a vehicle for Faraja. Of course, both need a whole bunch of stuff (Faraja especially because they are expanding classrooms and facilities) but I've been trying to pinpoint what is in need the most and I think these are going to be the final goals!The public transportation in Arusha is pretty crazy and dangerous. Riding is always a risk you have to take and there is no certainty or schedule for the dala-dalas to come (15 person vans that they squeeze on 40!) Faraja has trouble transporting the women to doctors appointments and they're internships during their stay at the center. My goal is to try and fundraise as much as I can prior to leaving, deliver the helmets to Twende, and continue fundraising through my cookbook to make a new vehicle possible. Can I do it!? I think so :D just a lot of work and some help from all of you!!!
I'm getting more and more busy as I toggle between work, school, research and volunteering/meetings! I am happy to say that my A's and Aces kiddies are done with their Arthur Ashe essays! I am hoping that we'll be lucky enough to have another contest winner this year to prove that our kids in the New Orleans public schools can succeed. It is a constant struggle to adapt to the culture and home life my students are a part of, all I hope is that I can help them in their school work and self-confidence.
LOVE LETTERS: I finally got around to sending out my very first love letter bundle for moreloveletters.com! The organization has great intitiatives and it was nice having my friends join me to spread some cheer and motivation. Our love letter bundle was to a dad that was recently put into intensive care after an infection post surgery caused him to be in a coma. We won't find out the status of our love letters, but can only hope they help Mark in his recovery!
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship: Last Wednesday, I was of course being antsy about the status of my Goldwater Scholar application since recipients were supposed to be notified by late march. Looking on the website, the scholars were posted! I was shocked (in a good way!) that I was on the list! I tried waiting for an e-mail to send to my recommenders, but apparently they just send out award packets a few days later. I am excited to get mine in the mail and am so thankful I have received such a prestigious award as an undergraduate. My application was based on my past experiences in Tanzania/Kenya and how I'd like to continue doing research in providing better technologies for developing nations when I graduate. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm done applying for things ;) I'm only an undergrad once (I'd hope anyways) and am trying to take advantage of every opportunity that is given to students at Tulane.
Tau Beta Pi: I am the new President of the TBP engineering honor society at Tulane. Handed to our junior class with little guidance nor activity, our new board is determined to bring our chapter back to life :) TBP is the second oldest honor society in the nation and has served as the only society that represents the entire engineering profession. Being a member is for a life time once inducted and provides many opportunities in college as well as in the work force. To get back on track, Aubrey (our new Vice President) and I went to Austin, Texas for the District 10 conference. We learned a lot about what opportunities we have as individuals and as a chapter, so we are excited to have the tools to start making an impact with TBP on campus. The society allows the top 1/8th of the junior class and 1/5th of the senior class to be nominated for election. We are going to work to make the membership process become more meaningful to everyone in our society. The conference was also really fun because I had never been to Austin before! Aubrey and I met up with my past TAB leader, Adam, and he showed us around the city.
I'm getting more and more busy as I toggle between work, school, research and volunteering/meetings! I am happy to say that my A's and Aces kiddies are done with their Arthur Ashe essays! I am hoping that we'll be lucky enough to have another contest winner this year to prove that our kids in the New Orleans public schools can succeed. It is a constant struggle to adapt to the culture and home life my students are a part of, all I hope is that I can help them in their school work and self-confidence.
LOVE LETTERS: I finally got around to sending out my very first love letter bundle for moreloveletters.com! The organization has great intitiatives and it was nice having my friends join me to spread some cheer and motivation. Our love letter bundle was to a dad that was recently put into intensive care after an infection post surgery caused him to be in a coma. We won't find out the status of our love letters, but can only hope they help Mark in his recovery!
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship: Last Wednesday, I was of course being antsy about the status of my Goldwater Scholar application since recipients were supposed to be notified by late march. Looking on the website, the scholars were posted! I was shocked (in a good way!) that I was on the list! I tried waiting for an e-mail to send to my recommenders, but apparently they just send out award packets a few days later. I am excited to get mine in the mail and am so thankful I have received such a prestigious award as an undergraduate. My application was based on my past experiences in Tanzania/Kenya and how I'd like to continue doing research in providing better technologies for developing nations when I graduate. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm done applying for things ;) I'm only an undergrad once (I'd hope anyways) and am trying to take advantage of every opportunity that is given to students at Tulane.
Tau Beta Pi: I am the new President of the TBP engineering honor society at Tulane. Handed to our junior class with little guidance nor activity, our new board is determined to bring our chapter back to life :) TBP is the second oldest honor society in the nation and has served as the only society that represents the entire engineering profession. Being a member is for a life time once inducted and provides many opportunities in college as well as in the work force. To get back on track, Aubrey (our new Vice President) and I went to Austin, Texas for the District 10 conference. We learned a lot about what opportunities we have as individuals and as a chapter, so we are excited to have the tools to start making an impact with TBP on campus. The society allows the top 1/8th of the junior class and 1/5th of the senior class to be nominated for election. We are going to work to make the membership process become more meaningful to everyone in our society. The conference was also really fun because I had never been to Austin before! Aubrey and I met up with my past TAB leader, Adam, and he showed us around the city.
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