Zoe is a third-year majoring in psychology and math. For her immersion experience during summer 2020, Zoe had a global virtual internship through the Spanish company Eloquenz, researching and curating podcasts to help kids learn comprehension and communication skills. Zoe also volunteered this year with the Young Women Leadership Program mentoring middle schoolers.
Lydia is a fourth-year majoring in math. For three summers, she has worked with the Appalachia Service Project (ASP), a non-profit organization that provides home repairs for low-income residents in five states. This summer for her honors project, she designed surveys to gauge general homeowner satisfaction and basic needs, and to track how utility bills change after ASP completes repairs. She is compiling the data from these surveys to improve the organization’s impact and help secure grant funding. Lydia is also on the leadership team of Tech Tutors, a student and alumni-led Covid-19 response to virtually tutor K-12 students.
Avi is a pre-med student majoring in biomedical engineering. She was trained in and volunteered for the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program for her immersion. Through this program, she was able to gain clinical experience and give back to the local community. She is also a Pavlis Learning Facilitator this semester.
Are you ready to vote? Are you registered? Do you have questions about voting? Visit the Michigan Tech voter registration drive on Tuesday, September 22, from noon-3 p.m. Bring a valid driver’s license/state ID and a mask, and make sure you know the last four digits of your Social Security Number.
Michigan residents who are unable to make it to the Voter Registration Day event can register to vote online until Monday, Oct. 19. They may also visit any Michigan Secretary of State office. Residents of all states can find voter information at http://www.vote411.org
Last year, Michigan Tech was awarded a bronze seal for excellence in voter engagement, but there’s still a long way to go.
“The (Washington Monthly) listing reflected a significant increase in voter registration, But MTU is still well below our peers. I’d like to increase our numbers so we are above the national average,” said Zach Olson, USG’s Political Affairs Committee chair and a recently named fellow of the Campus Election Engagement Project.
So: visit the drive if you’re not registered to vote, or have questions. And vote this November!
[Portions of this post were excerpted from Tech Today. Read the full article.]
Read about honors student and recent graduate Addie Saltarelli (Forestry, 2020) in the Western UP Food Systems Collaborate blog. Addie designed and co-taught a greenhouse and gardening course at Jeffers High School. She was awarded the Exceptional Community Service Project Leadership Award from Michigan Tech for this work.
Read about Michigan Tech students who have partnered with Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s Natural Resources Department on a variety of research projects:
Huskies Serve as Virtual K-12 Tutors During the Pandemic
When the Covid-19 pandemic began this spring, it rapidly affected every facet of life including the lives of K-12 students and families across the country when schools began closing. Schools changed gears to provide virtual and remote education almost overnight, a major challenge for teachers, students and parents alike. At the same time as universities closed, Michigan Tech students also found themselves stuck at home with plenty of their own on-line class work, but still wondering how they could help the community. As Tech students, faculty, and alumni brainstormed and connected with local educators for advice, Tech Tutors – a free, virtual tutoring program for K-12 students – was born.
Connecting on Zoom, Elise Cheney-Makens (alum and Community Engagement Coordinator for the Pavlis Honors College), Lydia Savatsky (undergraduate), and Charles Fugate (alum) worked together to quickly roll out the Tech Tutors program in a matter of weeks. By early May, the program was up and running.
Tech Tutors allows Michigan Tech students to volunteer while staying home to keep their families, friends, and communities safe. Volunteer tutors and K-12 students meet virtually through programs like Zoom. Participants range in age from first grade up through high school, and tutors help their students with everything from solving basic math problems to learning the principles of acids and bases by dipping oranges in baking soda or diving into the complex scientific and social implications of the pandemic. Currently, participating students come from throughout the Western U.P., and tutors are able to work with any students and families interested in tutoring.
The benefits of Tech Tutors extends far beyond helping with subjects like English, science, and math. While completing schoolwork and traditional learning are essential parts of the program, equally important is tutors mentoring and building connections with their students. At a time when many people – K-12 students, families, and college students alike – have had their normal routines and lives interrupted, building connections with new people, supporting one another, and learning from new perspectives is more valuable than ever before.
Created by students, faculty, staff, and alumni in the Pavlis Honors College, the Tech Tutors program will begin operating this fall under the Center for Educational Outreach at Michigan Tech and the program will continue to help K-12 students – and provide opportunities for Michigan Tech students to give back – as we navigate what school and life look like during the ever-changing Covid-19 world.
More information about Tech Tutors and how to get involved is available on their website.
One of the most important things students can do is become civically engaged. Watch this video to learn how to vote absentee if you’re a Michigan citizen. If you live out-of-state, go to vote.gov to find out how to vote this November.
Interested in being a math tutor with Americorps? Apply now for the upcoming school year: https://www.sagaeducation.org
With the intense end to our projects, the team decided to spend the last few days exploring the country and meeting up with old and new friends. Our first stop was the Volta region with our language instructor Edzordzi and his friend Augustina. They happened to be in Ghana at the same time we were despite studying back in the United States, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend some time with them. Edzordzi is from the Volta region and offered to take us there to show us some of the major places.
Our first stop was the Akosombo hydroelectric dam, a major source of electricity for Ghana. We stopped in Akosombo for lunch and then took a boat ride to see the dam and the natural beauty of the region from the water. From there, we took a trotro out to the city of Ho and spent a night relaxing on the side of a mountain at a hotel. The next morning, we made the journey out to the Wli waterfall, West Africa’s tallest waterfall. While the weather wasn’t great, we all still had a great time splashing in the water and goofing around. Once we were done, we started the long journey back to Accra for the night.
The next morning, the team headed out to Cape Coast to relax on the beach and explore the History of Ghana at the Cape Coast Slave Castle. We spent our first day there relishing in the sunshine and playing in the Atlantic. The waves were quite large so we couldn’t swim, but that didn’t stop any of us from having a good time. The next day, the team got up early to take a taxi out to Kakum National Park. While we knew what a canopy walk was, the reality of being over 40m up in the air over the forest was daunting. The team pushed on and had a great time up in the air. Edzordzi then met us back at our hotel and came with us to tour the Slave Castle. It was a very eye-opening experience to walk in a place that once housed over 1000 slaves and see what conditions they truly existed under.
After Cape Coast, the team returned to Accra to see a bit more of the city
and get some final work done. When we weren’t consolidating our resources for future teams, we met with Augustina at the University of Ghana – Accra to see the campus and explore the Botanical Gardens there. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to our new friend and see another piece of the natural beauty Ghana contains. From there, the team headed back to the hotel to work some more on logistics and start packing.
This post was written from the Kotoka Airport in Ghana. From there, the team is splitting up with Tristan heading back home to the States and Becky and Lucinda spending a week in Europe. It is safe to say that five weeks in Ghana is something no one on the team will forget, and we have all learned something from the experience. At times Ghana frustrated us, surprised us, and confused us, often all at the same time, but in the end, we survived the journey and made a difference.
Thank you to everyone who has followed our blog over the weeks and supported us on our journey, we couldn’t have done it without you!
-Lucinda, Becky, and Tristan