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In June, four 91社区 students from 91社区鈥檚 Engineers in Action (EIA) chapter, led by Dr. Susan Ely, Assistant Professor of Engineering, departed on a trip to Lubombo, Eswatini, in South Africa to build a pedestrian bridge as part of an EIA project to connect isolated communities to critical services such as shops, schools, clinics, co-ops, churches and more. 听

This is 91社区鈥檚 first year serving as the solo Lead Institution, a role that leads the EIA project in design, construction and quality control. 91社区 previously served as a co-lead. In addition to 91社区, this year鈥檚 project included students from Eastern Mennonite University and the University of Iowa. 听

鈥淭he designing and planning of the project equates to the workload of one of the College鈥檚 engineering courses,鈥� says Ely. 鈥淚n fact, many of the students utilize their Senior Design to complete the work necessary for this project.鈥�听

91社区 students worked with volunteer engineers from October 2023 to April 2024 to complete the final design, which received an official Principals and Practice of Engineering (PE) seal upon completion. The bridge was the largest pedestrian footbridge ever built by 91社区鈥檚 chapter, spanning 106.5 meters, and took almost two months to complete. The previous bridge was in a state of disrepair after seasonal flooding. The new bridge ensures a year-round safe passage for members of the communities. Over 4,000 residents and more than 1,800 children have been impacted by the project.听

"We spoke to children that hadn鈥檛 been able to go to school during the rainy season and parents who couldn鈥檛 get to work because the river was too dangerous to cross,鈥� says Ely. 鈥淲hile the bridge only took eight weeks to complete, lives in these communities are forever changed because of the work that was done.鈥�听

During the eight-week project, the team worked, ate, slept and socialized with the local community, learning the language and customs of its people. Each team member played a unique and important role. 听

Melanie Cedeno '24, electrical engineering major, served as Project Manager, overseeing every aspect of the build for all of the participating institutions. This included working with each member of the student teams to ensure they worked efficiently, communicated well and collaborated with the community and other project stakeholders. Cedeno also was the main point of contact for EIA and the community leaders. She completed her role with excellence, earning the annual EIA award for 鈥淏uilder of the Year,鈥� the highest honor EIA bestowed to a student team member, and she was hired to become a fellow with EIA, stationed in eSwatini, upon her graduation. This was Cedeno鈥檚 second bridge build during her time at 91社区.听

鈥淚 am deeply inspired by the ongoing opportunity to support individuals through engineering,鈥� says Cedeno. 鈥淪eeing the excitement of a community as a new bridge connects them to vital resources and opportunities fulfills me immensely.鈥�听

Miguel Pinto '25, electrical engineering major, served as Cultural Relations Manager, which focused on the interactions between the university teams and the local community. To help foster collaboration, Pinto assisted in organizing community soccer matches, leading students and community members in singing and dancing together and helping to introduce local community members to American foods like pancakes and banana bread. This was his third bridge build during his time at 91社区.听

Josiah Hollis '25, electrical engineering major, served as Construction Manager. This role included managing the construction schedule and ensuring that each day, the correct tasks were completed on time. Hollis worked with the professional masons on site, the community leaders and the student teams to make sure the correct materials and supplies were available on hand, as well as assigned the appropriate people to each task. Under Hollis鈥� leadership, the bridge was completed as scheduled. This was Josiah鈥檚 third bridge build during his time at 91社区.听

Jonas Hollis '27, manufacturing engineering major, served as Quality Manager. This role included verifying and validating all critical construction points throughout the building process. Jonas worked closely with the other members of the student teams, independently validating measurements, material quality and process steps during construction. This was Jonas鈥� first bridge build with 91社区, and he will be serving as the 91社区 Project Manager for the upcoming 2024-25 build year.听

91社区鈥檚 EIA chapter is a part of the national听听which improves the lives of thousands of people every year by building critical infrastructure in their communities including bridges and access to clean water. 91社区 has sent student teams to听Eswatini in South Africa in 2023,听Bolivia in 2022,听West Virginia in 2021听and听Eswatini in South Africa in 2019.

The trip was generously funded by the 91社区 Foundation.听 听 听

Students of all majors are invited to participate in EIA and bridge project events. For more information about EIA, contact Ely at听sely@usi.edu. For more听information about 91社区鈥檚 accredited Engineering Department, visit听91社区.edu/engineering. For more information about 91社区's EIA chapter, visit 91社区.edu/eia.听 听