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Unprepared and immature I stumbled into the Environmental Engineering major at Cornell. The rigors of engineering were a rude awakening. Having glided through public school with all A's and almost no effort, I simply did not know how to work so many hours and study properly. Not knowing what else I would do and not wanting to simply take the easy way out, I struggled through the Cornell curriculum. My GPA was abysmal to say the least, and I constantly questioned why I remained on this career path.
Then I stumbled upon CEE 2550 and I was formally introduced to AguaClara. On the Outreach team I had a smooth introduction to the program. The nature of the work, which I would truly not understand until much later, was honorable and the class functioned not like a competition, as I had experienced in many of my previous engineering courses, but more like a business where everyone is working towards a common goal. After CEE 2550, I knew that I had to get more involved with the program.
I then took CEE 4540 and the technical applications sparked my interest in a way that no other class had yet done. We were not simply doing problem sets of textbook questions; we were analyzing and understanding the physical equations and processes that governed the construction of water treatment plants that had been built and were fully functional.
Then I was given the opportunity to participate in the yearly trip to Honduras. The trip to Honduras unveiled to me the social context under which the AguaClara program operates. We met local families whose towns were plagued by water borne diseases caused by poor water quality. Compared to most of the towns that we visited our toilet water is of much higher quality than their kitchen sink. I had heard many times before that these people did not have access to clean drinking water but simply hearing it is just not the same as what our group experienced. In contrast when we visited the AguaClara plants that had previously been built in Honduras, the towns were happy to pay for such high quality water at the price we could provide to them with the technology We had helped to develop. The trip to Honduras gave us a big picture perspective that Cornell academics fails to acknowledge. At Cornell it is easy to get wrapped up in the stress of grades, In AguaClara it is about so much more than that. In AguaClara almost everyone gets exceptional grades, not because it's an easy course but because the social context of the course gives students purpose and motivation to far exceed the effort and passion they would exert for a grade.
AguaClara showed me why I want to be an engineer and the impact that an engineering degree allows me to make. After I became involved with AguaClara my motivation across the board drastically increased, my GPA even jumped a full grade point. AguaClara technology is incredible and the program is ready to spread, although I am scheduled to graduate I plan on working with AguaClara this summer and hope to be a part of the program even after I am no longer at Cornell. It is amazing how far the program has come, how much potential it still has, and how many lives it will touch in the coming years.
Mickey Adelman's Journal
I felt very fortunate to return to Honduras with such a motivated group of students who are in it for all the right reasons. I had been in rural Yoro a few times before with Lafayette College's Engineers Without Borders, and I am glad I have the chance to continue working on sustainable development in Central America with another organization that puts engineering to work for public benefit. Impressive as it is to build functional municipal-scale water treatment plants in the Global South, the AguaClara solutions are even more impressive when seen in real life - and against the backdrop of the difficult problems they are helping to address. I am really thankful to be a part of this group and to work with such exceptional people: Monroe, his students, the AguaClara engineers, the Agua Para el Pueblo staff, and the plant operators and community water boards.
Then I stumbled upon CEE 2550 and I was formally introduced to AguaClara. On the Outreach team I had a smooth introduction to the program. The nature of the work, which I would truly not understand until much later, was honorable and the class functioned not like a competition, as I had experienced in many of my previous engineering courses, but more like a business where everyone is working towards a common goal. After CEE 2550, I knew that I had to get more involved with the program.
I then took CEE 4540 and the technical applications sparked my interest in a way that no other class had yet done. We were not simply doing problem sets of textbook questions; we were analyzing and understanding the physical equations and processes that governed the construction of water treatment plants that had been built and were fully functional.
Then I was given the opportunity to participate in the yearly trip to Honduras. The trip to Honduras unveiled to me the social context under which the AguaClara program operates. We met local families whose towns were plagued by water borne diseases caused by poor water quality. Compared to most of the towns that we visited our toilet water is of much higher quality than their kitchen sink. I had heard many times before that these people did not have access to clean drinking water but simply hearing it is just not the same as what our group experienced. In contrast when we visited the AguaClara plants that had previously been built in Honduras, the towns were happy to pay for such high quality water at the price we could provide to them with the technology We had helped to develop. The trip to Honduras gave me the big picture perspective that Cornell academics had failed to convey. At Cornell it is easy to get wrapped up in the stress of grades, In AguaClara it is about so much more than that. In AguaClara almost everyone gets exceptional grades, not because it's an easy course but because the social context of the course gives students purpose and motivation to far exceed the effort and passion they would exert for a grade.
AguaClara showed me why I want to be an engineer and the impact that an engineering degree allows me to make. After I became involved with AguaClara my motivation across the board drastically increased, my GPA even jumped a full grade point. AguaClara technology is incredible and the program is ready to spread, although I am scheduled to graduate I plan on working with AguaClara this summer and hope to be a part of the program even after I am no longer at Cornell. It is amazing how far the program has come, how much potential it still has, and how many lives it will touch in the coming years.
Mickey Adelman's Journal
I felt very fortunate to return to Honduras with such a motivated group of students who are in it for all the right reasons. I had been in rural Yoro a few times before with Lafayette College's Engineers Without Borders, and I am glad I have the chance to continue working on sustainable development in Central America with another organization that puts engineering to work for public benefit. Impressive as it is to build functional municipal-scale water treatment plants in the Global South, the AguaClara solutions are even more impressive when seen in real life - and against the backdrop of the difficult problems they are helping to address. I am really thankful to be a part of this group and to work with such exceptional people: Monroe, his students, the AguaClara engineers, the Agua Para el Pueblo staff, and the plant operators and community water boards.
The trip turned into a two-way learning experience which I think is exactly what it is supposed to be. I was really pleased with the performance of the stacked filter demo, and we generated a lot of excitement about adding filtration to the AguaClara treatment train. And just as the operators and APP staff learned from us about how stacked filters worked, we learned from them about the important practical issues we will face in bringing them to full scale. I am definitely excited to keep working with these people in the future as this new technology comes to fruition.
Tanya Cabrito's Journal
My experience in Honduras was simply unforgettable. This was my first trip to Latin America and I was captivated by the pervasive scenic beauty of the area and struck by the warmth of the people in the small towns that AguaClara services. I can't really say the same about the atmosphere in the big cities we visited, but I guess that's to be expected. The metropolitan centers were very interesting though. But for me, the small towns were the jewels of the trip - brimming with a deep sense of community, a plethora of local handmade crafts, and great experiences with local folk. Some of these experiences include helping with tortilla making at Dona Hilda's place, getting to know the host families, learning about coffee bean preparation, trying to make small talk while having the Spanish language skills of 3-year old Honduran (if even that) and everyone's great sense of humor when I accidently confused swear words for appropriate words in the process, and making friends who I'll cherish for long after the trip.
The trip itself had a diverse time-efficient itinerary that was packed full of fun and interesting things. We explored both rural and metropolitan centers, hiked around Pico Bonito/other, went to a beach and a swimming hole, attended a cultural event (I think it was called the Dance of the Saints), explored a cave; visited a Spanish oven, a sugar plantation, and local markets. It made two weeks seem more like a month and that's awesome. Oh, and the food was great - lots of avocados.
In terms of waterworks, we visited some conventional plants including a slow sand filter and a package plant, La 34, and AguaClara plants in Tamara, Cuatro Comunidades, Agalteca, Marcala, and Ojojona. This variety provided a good opportunity to assess the performance of high-tech water treatment plants and to compare their performance with AguaClara plants. Overall, we found that the conventional plants were generally inefficient, producing quality and service that were subpar to that provided by AguaClara plants. In fact, some of the conventional plants were not fully operational and had broken components that weren't easy to fix. This difference in performance may be attributable to the notion that conventional plants may be implemented without regard for the economic and socio-political context of the area while AguaClara plants are designed with consideration for the serviced community. Just considering the AguaClara plants, we found that the newer plants were performing better than the older plants, which is not too surprising since AguaClara technology is continuously advancing. Finding a way to retrofit the older plants would be cool. If I remember correctly, I believe the best effluent turbidity produced by the AguaClara plants was around 0.6 NTU at Agalteca. After implementation of the demo filter, we achieved effluent turbidities that met US standards of 0.3 NTU, which was super exciting.
At Agalteca, we actually had enough confidence to drink water straight from the tap. It felt kind of revolutionary although as a foreigner I am not really sure if I could fully grasp the sensation. Along that vein, the trip was a great window to gain first-hand experience of the water crisis. It really personalized the conflict and humanized those affected. It's always one thing to see a photograph and read pamphlet, but having the opportunity to be there with the families and actually live, albeit for just two weeks, with an unstable supply of clean water is a poignant wake-up call. And for me, it really made me appreciate having the opportunity to do something about it. It really bolstered my respect for organizations like AguaClara and renewed my motivation for service. Also, it was really wonderful to see that despite all the hardships, the people generally had what I would consider a very vibrant sense of life. This is in contrast to the largely material culture of the US, where it seems like high tech and instant gratification can turn slight inconveniences into tragedies. Overall, it was refreshing experience and a good reminder of the sweetness of community and of the small things that are often overlookedThe trip turned into a two-way learning experience which I think is exactly what it is supposed to be. I was really pleased with the performance of the stacked filter demo, and we generated a lot of excitement about adding filtration to the AguaClara treatment train. And just as the operators and APP staff learned from us about how stacked filters worked, we learned from them about the important practical issues we will face in bringing them to full scale. I am definitely excited to keep working with these people in the future as this new technology comes to fruition.