Hello world!

I suppose for my first entry I should introduce myself, I should also warn you I am never very good at this.

My name is Kathryn and I am about to complete my bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Wayne State University. It has been a loooong journey (I may have drug those four years out to eight =/, but hey I have lots of experience) which has allowed me to fall in love with city of Detroit (warm days on Belle Isle, delicious baked goods in the morning at Avalon Bakery, great music, Saturday mornings at Eastern Market, late nights on a porch in Woodbridge, brunch & mimosas with friends at La Dolce Vita, etc.), discover my love for learning languages and exploring other cultures (volunteering in the Dominican Republic, studying in Brazil), and of course learn a tremendous amount, not only about school subjects but life in general.  Yes I am aware that that was one of the longest run on sentences, but keep in mind I am an engineering student, writing is not my strong point.

I am finally about to enter the “adult world”, whatever that means, which I must say is very exciting yet absolutely terrifying at the same time.  When I came across the Engineering World Health (EWH) Summer Institute’s website, I knew I had found the perfect transitional volunteer opportunity. With this program I will be traveling to Central America to fix broken medical equipment at a local hospital. What many people don’t know is that most equipment that is donated to third world hospitals is inoperative. This program sends volunteers into the field to not only fix the equipment but to train the hospital staff in using the equipment (the majority of the manuals are written in English).

Unfortunately between travel, training, housing and other volunteer expenses, the financial burden is quite high. Although EWH is able to cover $2500, I am required to fund raise the remaining $6000.

Over the next couple months I am going to be holding multiple fundraisers as well as requesting donations from local businesses, friends and family. This is where I will be filling you all in on where I am at in my fundraising efforts and later share my experiences with the program. Please check out the About section to find out a little more about the program that I will be participating in this summer. I am currently in the fundraising stage and am waiting to find out which country and with what hospital I will be placed.  I will be hosting my first fundraising event at Image Salon in Dearborn, MI on Sunday, March 20th. Thank you for visiting the blog and I thank you in advance for any support you may be able to provide!

-Kathryn