WT Engineering Students Provide Rainwater Storage During Study Abroad Trip to Kenya

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - Eight students from West Texas A&M University's College of Engineering recently traveled to Kenya to help provide quality water for a girls' school.

The students and faculty members Dr. Nathan Howell, the Bell Helicopter Professor of Engineering, and Dr. Fisseha Alemayehu, associate professor of mechanical engineering, worked at the Plateau Girls' Boarding School outside of Eldoret, Kenya. The Study Abroad trip was in cooperation with Christian Relief Fund of Amarillo and Hope Water Africa in Eldoret.

"This was a completely new kind of project for CRF, combining its interest in service and international development with a Study Abroad experience, and we are grateful that they provided $25,000 in funding for materials and labor," Howell said.

"It is quite rare in the field of engineering development that students can complete all three phases of a project-meeting a community and gathering requirements, performing engineering design calculations, and then implementing a project directly," Howell continued. "In addition to the satisfaction students had in seeing their designs move from the grid paper to construction site, they also got to view active groundwater drilling in remote areas and see the human impact of the opening of water well in a small village."

The students represented each of the majors in the College - civil, mechanical, environmental and electrical. Working together, they gained a better understanding of water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as designing and implementing an engineering solution to the Kenya school's struggles with maintaining a high-quality source of water.

"The school is near a river, but it frequently goes dry and can suffer from contamination from a nearby flower bouquet production facility," Alemayehu said. "To combat these issues, students constructed a rainwater harvest system that will collect, store and clean much of the 43 inches of rain that falls annually in Eldoret."

The system features 500 meters of gutters and first-flush tanks that allow the rainwater to be exceedingly clean, Howell said. Remote devices were installed to allow WT's engineering faculty and students to continue to monitor the tanks, which can store 100,000 liters of rainwater.

"I check them every single day, and I think everyone else does too," said J.T. Cavender, a senior mechanical engineering major from Midlothian.

That reflects the "lasting impact" the trip has had on students, Cavendar said.

"This wasn't just a trip where we were taking classes. We were actually getting to apply what we've learned and use it in a professional sense, to help these people in a way that had never happened before," Cavender said. "It meant a lot for me, and I'm sure I can speak for everyone else that it meant a lot for them, too."

WT students also led hygiene and STEM training for more than 600 girls at the school. They also toured the Great Rift Valley, participated in a rural water well drilling project, and took part in an animal viewing safari in Amboseli National Park.

"Studying abroad allows students to experience new places and cultures, make friends worldwide and gain a global perspective while earning credits towards their degree," said Pilar Hunt, coordinator of WT's Study Abroad and Nationally Competitive Scholarship office. "It enables students to develop highly valued skills such as intercultural communication, foreign languages, adaptability, problem-solving, and much more."

In addition to Cavender, participating WT students include Daniel Arnold, a junior mechanical engineering major from Hurst; Kassidy Galassini, a junior mechanical engineering major from Portales, New Mexico; Reagan Heelan, a graduate student in environmental engineering from Kearney, Nebraska; Yadhira Marrufo-Canas, a May graduate in civil engineering from Amarillo; Aleza Phothisene, a senior environmental engineering major from Dumas; Tori Ruiz, a senior civil engineering major from Amarillo; and Garrett Scardino, a senior electrical engineering major from Amarillo.

Such research activities are one way in which WT is strengthening its position as a Regional Research University, a key priority of the University's long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign's new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest's finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men's and women's athletics programs.

Top Photo: Representing West Texas A&M University's College of Engineering on a Study Abroad trip to Eldoret, Kenya, were Vicky Buckelew, from left, administrative associate; Dr. Nathan Howell, Daniel Arnold, Reagan Heelan, Garrett Scardino, Aleza Phothisene, J.T. Cavender, Yadhira Marrufo-Canas, Kassidy Galassini, Tori Ruiz and Dr. Fisseha Alemayehu. (Photo courtesy Caleb J. Dansby / Christian Relief Fund)

-WT-

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