Baylor Engineers with a Mission use their talents to serve others

“Sometimes we call it a discipline-specific internship. Sometimes we call it a service-learning trip. But the idea is that we go somewhere and partner with an organization who’s already doing good things in their community and try to support them as they reach out to the poor and their community.”

That’s the aim of Baylor’s Engineers with a Mission, led by faculty sponsor Brian Thomas. This year, as Thomas explains in the video below, Baylor’s engineering and computer science students partnered with the Pittsburgh Kids Foundation to design, build and install solar panels to power a local school and children’s home in Haiti:

Previously, the entire compound relied on a large fuel-powered generator, but fuel was far too costly for them to rely on. Now, the solar panels will charge a battery bank, and the battery bank will become their buildings’ energy source.

“It was really encouraging the last few days to see just how productive we’ve been,” said senior engineering major Walker Miller after working on the project. “It’s like, ‘Wow, we put in a lot of time, a lot of work, and it’s really great to see what we’ve built.’”

This is what Baylor students do — use the talents God has given them to make others’ lives just a little bit better. As Thomas says, “If we’re gonna serve, we wanna serve out of our gifts and talents — the gifts and talents we’ve been given by the Lord.”

Sic ’em, Engineers with a Mission!