Course Description: This new service-learning course is an outgrowth of the spring semester Senior Capstone Design Project in Structural Engineering. For the past four years in that course, students have worked on various structural designs for a Catholic orphanage in Honduras, and a portion of the students in that class have traveled to Honduras with the professors and a few CE underclassmen on an associated mission trip over Spring Break in which they work on the construction of those designs. This year, we are pleased to welcome Mechanical Engineering Students to the course and the trip. The mission trip is co-sponsored by the department, college, and Campus Ministry, and incorporates all aspects of a service learning experience (preparation, service, reflection, and celebration). This year we will begin to build a school, begin construction of a backup power generator, and identify potential future projects for the Villanova-Amigos partnership.
Back Row Left to Right: Dr. Shawn Gross, Elizabeth
Kenyon, James Troise; Back Row: Sarah Banas, Jeffrey Cook, Robert Guinivan,
Carolyn Conlee, James Sutton, Andrew Blasetti; Front Row Left to
Right: Liza Dhamer, John Boring, Dr. David
Dinehart, Dennis Stefanski; Not Shown: Melissa Guinivan
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Villanova University Faculty |
Villanova University Alumni Advisor |
Civil Engineering Seniors |
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Dr. David W. Dinehart |
Melissa A. Guinivan |
Andrew S. Blasetti |
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Dr. Shawn P. Gross |
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Carolyn Conlee |
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Elizabeth A. Dhamer |
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Mechanical Engineering Seniors |
Civil Engineering Juniors |
Civil Engineering Sophomores |
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Sarah D. Banas |
Jeffrey J. Cook |
Robert A. Guinivan |
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John A. Boring, III |
Elizabeth A. Kenyon |
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Dennis J. Stefanski |
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James P. Sutton |
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James E. Troise |
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Course Objectives:
1. Participate in a service activity related to Civil and Mechanical Engineering.
2. Develop an understanding of another culture.
3. Effectively communicate, in written and verbal form, the outcomes of the service experience.
Introduction to Amigos De Jesus
Amigos De Jesus, a Catholic Orphanage in Posas Verdes, Honduras, was started in 1997 by Sister Teresita, SSND a Honduran Notre Dame Nun, Christine and Anthony Granese, residents of Norristown, PA, and Father Dennis O'Donnell, Rector of Malvern Retreat House. The mission of Amigos De Jesus is:
“To provide hope for the street children of Honduras. Hope that allows them to grow intellectually, emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually.”
The orphanage rests on 70 acres of fertile land in the Northwest corner of a mountainous section of Honduras, about a two hour ride from San Pedro Sula airport, near the border of Guatemala.
For more information, see the Amigos de Jesus web site.