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| From left: Jeremy Michalek, Christine Vehar, Peter Adamczyk. Not pictured is Cibeles Garcia, who is currently serving in the Peace Corps in Ghana. |
This year four students from ME were honored with MLK Spirit Awards for their contributions to the University of Michigan community and beyond. The awards recognize North Campus students who best exemplify the leadership and extraordinary vision of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., through relationship-building among diverse groups, innovation, vision and service.
Peter Adamczyk, Jeremy Michalek and Christine Vehar were part of a student-faculty team that conceived, developed and co-taught Engineering for Community (ENGR 490), a multidisciplinary course to foster intercultural awareness and understanding of relationships between technological development and human welfare. "In many engineering courses, you learn problem-solving and how to design products and solutions, but we don't always think about how what we design is affecting people," said Vehar.
Through lectures, workshop exercises and actual projects submitted by local nonprofit organizations, such as designing a heating system for low-income, pre-fabricated housing, students looked at communication and problem-solving in new ways. Adamczyk recalls an exercise where the class read a narrative written by a Brazilian woman living in a shantytown and was asked to identify the woman's needs. Though she'd written what she thought would improve her situation, "most of us glossed over it and applied our own intuition to it. One of the things we learned was that while technically we may have been right, if someone doesn't see the same need they're not going to care what we do about it."
The course drew more than three dozen undergraduate and graduate students. About two-thirds were enrolled in the College of Engineering; others came from a variety of program areas: anthropology, natural resources, sociology, "even an English major or two," said Adamczyk.
Students found the course "fulfilling," said Vehar. "I think people really need a sense of purpose. This gives them tools to go about their careers in ways that will make a difference."
In addition to planning the course and developing all of the materials, Adamczyk, Vehar and Michalek served as project group leaders and presenters. They met often outside of class and devoted countless hours. "I am simply amazed by the professionalism and commitment of this extraordinary group of graduate students," said Professor William Schultz, a co-instructor with Ken Ludwig of Industrial and Operations Engineering and Lisa Payton, director of Student Leadership and Academic Services. "I have little doubt they've had a strong impact on those who were lucky enough to get into this course."
Recent ME graduate Cibeles Garcia seems never to get tired of giving. Before graduating, Garcia spent seven months in Mexico, where she held an internship as an overseas educational advisor for the Institute for International Education. She worked in the organization's Latin American office in Mexico City compiling a database of international educational resources, which she co-edited and then published in a book distributed to recipients of the Regional Program for Graduate Fellowships in the Social Sciences funded by the Ford Foundation.
Right now Garcia is in Ghana, where she will serve in the Peace Corps for the next two years. "She gives of herself everywhere she goes," said Susan Montgomery, undergraduate program advisor in Chemical Engineering and the faculty advisor of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) student chapter. Garcia worked with Montgomery when she served as academic chair of SHPE for three years during her time at the University. She recruited students to serve as tutors and peer mentors for Youth Engineers and Scientists (YES), a Saturday morning enrichment program for ninth-grade Latino students in the Detroit area. She also organized study sessions and other events with the professional chapter of SHPE.
Watching Garcia motivate others spurred Montgomery to nominate her for the MLK Spirit Award. "She always has a positive attitude and encourages others... It's great to see the respect she has for other cultures and peoples, the initiative she takes in meeting people, and her desire to make things better."
Garcia says that receiving the award "came as a huge surprise" and honor. "The University of Michigan offered numerous opportunities to get involved in programs and events that uplifted the principles and beliefs of the late Martin Luther King. I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with people who constantly challenge me to do the same. In Africa, poverty is as apparent as the sun. I hope the time and effort I'm putting in to promote education and the development of life skills for students at the village level in Ghana will have a positive effect on the youth, so that they too may uphold the spirit of love, community, and service."
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Levi Thompson, who oversees the MLK Student Recognition Program, said that the College is "fortunate to have these students as part of the community." He recalled the words of Dr. King: "A man has not begun to live until he can rise above the narrow confines of his own individual concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."