Water works

With final exams wrapping up, many students prepare to return home for the summer. But, a small group of UD engineering students closed their books after finals week and started packing for a 10-day volunteer trip to Ecuador.

UD’s Ethos Center provides undergraduate engineering students, from a range of disciplines, the opportunity to travel out of the country to find engineering solutions to problems faced by a developing community. This summer’s student group traveled to Otavalo, Ecuador, with the Tandana Foundation to assist in building a water system for a start-up tilapia business.

“We worked alongside women in the indigenous community to connect the water system that the previous UD Ethos group had started the year before,” said civil engineering major WenLi Zekich ’27.

“These women are not complainers,” says Jeremy Patterson ’27, another civil engineering major.

“It’s very inspiring to see mothers with babies on their backs trenching holes with the rest of us.”

The experience offered these students the chance to put into practice their engineering coursework, but also get a jumpstart on what they will be learning in the future.

“The main portion of the project dealt with hydraulics which is a class I’m taking in the fall, so I’m excited to have the chance to draw on this real-world experience in the class,” said Patterson.

Martín Silva ’26, an industrial engineering technology major, said that while engineering is a technical field, it’s also a people field, too. “This opportunity gave me the chance to grow in my communication skills with people across differences,” said Silva.

In addition, the students stayed with host families in the indigenous communities for a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in Ecuadorian culture with cooking classes, museum visits and attending a community justice talk.

“In their humble community, we got the chance to live the way they live,” said Zekich.

“We laughed a lot with our host families and those we were working with,” said Silva. “Those ‘blooper’ moments are what stand out about the experience.”

Chemical engineering major Jared Lenczyk '27 even brought some UD merch to share with his host family to spread a little Flyer pride. “They immediately put them on and were super excited,” he said. “They kept saying, ‘I’m Americano!’ That was a very memorable moment.”

The students were able to complete their project within the 10-day timeframe and celebrated by releasing the first fish into the system alongside community members. 

Upon their return to the U.S., the students each said they’d recommend the trip to a fellow UD engineer. “Just remember to be open-minded and be ready to have your world shaken up,” said Zekich. “It … changes your perspective on how other people live.”

Silva agreed, “Ethos gives you another perspective on what it means to be an engineer and how important it is to share our education in pursuit of the Common Good.”

Photos courtesy of Ethos Center