September 15, 2008
If you haven’t experienced UD’s power outage, you’ve been kept in the dark. The ’08 Blackout has been, in my five years of attending school here, one of the most interesting natural disasters to ever occur at UD. It might even beat out last winter’s freak snowstorm (remember the igloos and snowbars?). The experiences of this past Sunday have given me a few things to think about, and I even have a challenge to propose.
Let me start with the experience. Sunday afternoon, September 14th, during the high-activity period of the storm, all of campus was alive. Everyone was out doing what UD does best: celebrating. Talk was abuzz about “no class tommorrow” or “that gust blew my dog away” or “did you see the tree that fell on that house?” (My condolences to the girls of Irving and Lawnview).
Trees were downed everywhere; branches, black walnuts, and garbage littered the streets. Power lines were down all over, including behind Kiefaber and Lowes, and on Brown Street. Dust and sediment blew into peoples’ eyes at 20-40 miles per hour. Empty beer boxes played the tumbleweed, blowing down Evanston and Stonemill. Houses and power lines made nice little targets for the trees, especially in the case of Mr. Biology Professor, who is looking at quite some damage. In spite of it all, people were out on their porches, enjoying the lovely natural disaster. A few were even windsurfing throughout the Ghetto, with their sheets spread wide atop their longboards (you probably saw me).
Which brings me to my point. We have experienced a night of no television, no video games, and probably no music. So, let me ask you, what did you do instead? Now that you were forced to relinquish those habits, if only for one night (or, from the looks of it, several nights), did you go outside and talk with your house and your neighbors? Seeing that there was no electricity, perhaps you grilled outside with your community, being sure to consume those meats and beverages before they got warm. Maybe you stood in the ridiculous lines at Chipotle or Wendys.
As the night wore on, I saw friends gathered around candlelight, chatting. The guys on Lawnview made use of some leftover blue glowsticks – leftover from God-only-knows – to light their way. Hosts pulled out their lawn/luau torches. Marianist houses offered a place to sleep and be with others for the night. Those lucky enough to have power invited the unworthy over to catch up on the Bengals game. A group of 20 guys in tightie-whities carrying home-made torches went streaking through the quad, past the gymnasium.
Whatever the event, the community had come alive!
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September 15, 2008
The University of Dayton School of Business Administration is pleased to announce the third annual UD Business Plan Competition (UDBPC) for the 2008-2009 academic year. First prize will be $15,000 and over $35,000 in total prize monies will be awarded. The UDBPC involves student teams investigating the feasibility of a new venture and constructing a plan for launching the venture using common formats and guidelines. Because writing a comprehensive business plan can seem daunting, the UDBPC is simple to enter and offers applicants built-in support throughout the entire process of developing a winning business plan. The UDBPC goal is to help infuse entrepreneurship across campus and, indeed, the entire region. Outstanding business plans often attract funding from investors, something that could eventually spur job creation and economic growth.
Salud del Sol, the 2008 UDBPC winner, involved business and engineering students who created a business plan to develop and market solar cookers and solar-powered sterilizers and set up companies in Nicaraguan villages to produce the equipment.
Visit UDBPC for more information. Directors of Salud del Sol are available for inquiries about last year’s competition; send questions to info@saluddelsol.org.
September 1, 2008
Incredible cultural immersion experience in Nicaragua. Check.
Learn to make Nacatamales with host family. Check.
Improve Spanish. Check.
Learn to carry a bucket of water on head. half Check.
With hands. Check.
Non profit status for Salud del Sol. Pending…
After an amazing experience in Nicaragua, I am well on my way to the “next steps” in life and what that entails, including more development for Salud del Sol! I learned more this summer than I ever thought possible, about the people, culture, development work, eco-engineering, and how to practice sustainable business development. The time spent in Nicaragua was a juxtapose between the slow paced life style of the relaxed culture and knowing that time was limited and trying to create as many successful projects as possible. The last few weeks of the trip I traveled with fellow Salud del Sol member Lori Hanna and my sister Kelsey to various meetings with NGOs and other potential partners for Salud del Sol.
Exciting development with the product research came from a meeting held with Susan Kinne, Director of Grupo Fenix, Dr. Richard Komp, creator of the autoclave project, Chemical Engineering students from the National Engineering University and their professor, Lori and myself. We spent a Friday morning brainstorming about how to continue the product research of the autoclave in Nicaragua. Salud del Sol has a focus on the importance of appropriate technology with of product research. That being said, it is incredibly relevant that we are able to collaboratively conduct research with teams in Nicaragua. As a result of this meeting held, we have set up to continue communication with a research team of chemical engineers who will be testing one of the current autoclave designs and making adaptations to another for further research. Look for more information about these developments within the project section of the website!
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