Clean drinking water is something we might take for granted, but for people in impoverished areas of the world, it’s a necessity that takes time and energy every day to acquire. Recent UWM grad Cassandra Bence is helping do something about it.
Bence, as president of the Engineers Without Borders chapter at UWM, traveled to Guatemala three times with the group to build infrastructure to bring running water to poor villages. The work helped give communities ownership, Bence said – allowing them to spend time that had been used to gather water on schooling, creating products to sell and farming.
“I learned so much from hands-on experience that you cannot learn sitting in a class or from reading a textbook. I was able to ask the Guatemalan masons in Spanish why they did things a certain way and then mimic that to finish part of the project. I was able to see how a rudimentary design could bring more than just water to a village; it brought education and time for other hobbies,” Bence said.
After graduation, Bence will remain involved with Engineers Without Borders as a mentor to future UWM students.
Bence was one of three UWM students honored at UWM’s commencement on Sunday, Dec. 18, at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. More than 2,200 student received degrees.
