The ETHOS Center at the University of Dayton transforms engineering from a technical discipline into a powerful force for community impact. By embedding students within local and international communities, ETHOS moves beyond traditional service models to cultivate community-driven partnerships. Students collaborate directly with community members to co-design sustainable technical solutions that address the root causes of inequality — ensuring each project is both culturally responsive and built to last.
ETHOS challenges students to apply their expertise to the world’s most pressing issues, reinforcing engineering’s purpose as a profession dedicated to the common good.
This past summer, two student groups completed ETHOS immersions — one working alongside partners in Africa, and another engaging with communities here in Dayton.
Dandelion Africa — Nakuru, Kenya
Heidi Fox, a senior in electrical engineering, and Norah Hess, a junior in civil engineering, participated in a 12-week ETHOS summer immersion program in Nakuru, Kenya. Their project focused on supporting medical access for women and children through the local non-profit Dandelion Africa. This nonprofit empowers women and children by providing essential medical care, comprehensive reproductive health education, and economic independence programs designed to establish self-sufficiency and community wellbeing. Collaborating with Dandelion Africa to meet patient and community needs, Fox and Hess aided with four main projects.
To ensure year-round food security, Fox and Hess designed and built a climate-adaptive shade net greenhouse featuring a retractable roof and an efficient drip irrigation system, specifically engineered to protect crops from heat and conserve limited water resources. Beyond agriculture, they collaborated with local carpenters to construct a community gift shop for local Maasai women’s products to strengthen women’s economic independence and led the renovation of freestanding breastfeeding privacy rooms. By repurposing materials and integrating direct community feedback, they delivered successful facilities that directly improved the health and privacy of local mothers and their infants.
“An ETHOS experience bridges the gap between engineering expertise and the human compassion often overlooked in the industry. It provides a firsthand understanding of the ‘why’ behind your work, teaching you that engineering is most effective when driven by purpose and a commitment to serving others,” said Hess.
Living in a rural farming community alongside Dandelion’s founder offered Fox and Hess a deep immersion into local life. Residing in standalone cottages with shared communal spaces, they built genuine relationships by cooking and sharing meals with community members. This proximity allowed Fox and Hess to transition seamlessly between technical engineering projects and community engagement, such as leading school assemblies or volunteering at remote medical clinics. These experiences bridged the gap between their professional work and the daily lives of those they served.
“This experience completely transformed my perspective, confirming my passion for engineering by demonstrating how technical skills can profoundly impact lives. Through meaningful community interactions, I learned that the most effective solutions come from sitting down with people to truly understand their needs and aspirations for the projects we create together,” said Hess.
As the immersion came to a close, both students reflected on how deeply the experience shaped not only their technical skills, but also their understanding of what it means to be an engineer in service of others.
“I am so grateful to the ETHOS program and the university for this once in a lifetime opportunity. This was truly a life changing experience that will forever change me as both a person and an engineer. Kenya is such a beautiful country filled with kind, welcoming people and is so much more than just a place to go on a safari. I will forever admire that resourcefulness of many of the people I encountered and that I can only hope to emulate,” said Fox.
Mission of Mary — Dayton, OH
Noah Kolar and Andrew Fisher, senior chemical engineering students, participated in a 12-week ETHOS summer immersion program at Mission of Mary in Dayton, OH. Mission of Mary Cooperative works to advance sustainable urban development in Dayton by transforming vacant land into productive gardens and partnering with neighbors to build a healthier, more resilient community.
At Mission of Mary, Kolar and Fisher optimized nursery operations by designing and installing an automated ventilation system. They engineered temperature-controlled shutters that adjust automatically to manage the harsh morning and evening temperature fluctuations, eliminating the need for manual intervention by gardeners. Beyond this primary project, they strengthened the facility’s infrastructure by constructing drying racks and storage solutions, as well as performing essential repairs on various greenhouses to ensure a stable growing environment.
“Our projects directly supported the work of Mission of Mary by reducing the manual workload for the farm staff. By building more efficient systems, we ensured the team spent less time on repairs and more time on the meaningful, mission-aligned work of helping the community,” Kolar said.
Kolar and Fisher aligned their engineering goals with the commitment of Mission of Mary to food justice and sustainable community development. By prioritizing the use of recycled on-site materials, they mirrored the dedication of the nonprofit to sustainability and resourceful problem-solving. Every project was designed with a broader purpose to strengthen the neighborhood garden program and empower residents to grow their own food. By integrating technical expertise with a focus on unity and food security, they ensured their work benefited both the organization and the long-term well-being of the community it serves.
During their ETHOS immersion, Kolar and Fisher resided in the Twin Towers neighborhood, allowing them to live within the specific community that Mission of Mary serves.
“Serving the Dayton community through ETHOS provided a unique perspective on the critical challenges facing the neighborhoods directly adjacent to our campus. It was eye-opening to learn the history of the Twin Towers area and engage with local concerns that are often overlooked from within the university environment,” Kolar said.
