Brooke Baugher

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As an undergraduate student, I began a partnership with a Rwanda NGO, Fondazione Marcegaglia Onlus, to create engineering technology solutions for use in Rilima, Rwanda. This partnership has continued throughout my graduate studies, and it has inspired me to understand global experiences and projects more deeply for both students and partnering communities. I research international service learning (aka global service learning) in higher education with the goal to improve these experiences and partnerships for all stakeholders (faculty, students, and partner communities).  I hope that through my research, I can help create a foundation for faculty to build impactful and research-based courses that integrate international service. In addition to research, I teach a course in the Myers Lawson School of Construction titled Global Design and Construction where students learn to design for international contexts and construct their solutions over a winter break study abroad. This is my second year teaching the course. I am currently analyzing course data from the first year to produce a journal paper aimed at assisting first-time faculty in developing and leading international service-learning projects. I have also been a senior design team advisor for the Mechanical Engineering department for two years, in which I have advised 15 engineering seniors through their capstone projects for implementation in Rilima, Rwanda. The projects were focused on Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and waste sanitation. Collectively, my work aims to improve international service in universities to benefit all stakeholders.