Building bridges in Bolivia

Last fall, Jimena Macias went to O-Show, an event for STEM-related student organizations sponsored by the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity each August, mostly out of curiosity. But she also had an internal desire to join a club and organization seeking students to help with their upcoming missions.

A native of Mexico who grew up in Richmond, Macias was a first-year student with an interest in civil engineering. She came across a booth for Engineers in Action, and it caught her attention.

“I saw that their club mostly consisted of traveling abroad and actually building these bridges for these communities that truly need the help,” Macias said. “So I joined the club, and then their applications went out for the actual abroad travel, and I said, ‘Why not?’”

Earlier this summer, Macias joined three others from Virginia Tech on a trip to Bolivia to construct a pedestrian bridge in a remote village outside of the nation’s constitutional capital of Sucre. The bridge crossed a small river that bisects the village, and during the rainy season, it floods, which prevents access to either side.

The lack of access thus created issues for the residents. Most of the homes are located on one side of the river, but a school and a health clinic sit on the opposite side.

“The community members would tell us how they really struggled during those rainy seasons,” Macias said. “It gets difficult for them. There's a three-month period where they can't even cross the river because it's too dangerous. They were mostly just grateful and happy we were there helping them so they wouldn't have to struggle as much throughout the year.”

The project marked yet another example of Virginia Tech’s emphasis on experiential learning, which, as university President Tim Sands pointed out in his State of the University address in January, leads to improved student success following graduation. Students with such learning on their resumes are 110 percent more likely to land their first choice of jobs, according to a study on the topic conducted by the university.

Though not technically an internship, students’ involvement with Engineers in Action (EIA) provides them with real-world experience that many employers desire.

“The EIA program is a great opportunity for students across different disciplines to participate in an authentic, community-focused design project from start to finish,” said Matthew James, associate professor of practice in the Department of Engineering Education. “With the guidance of EIA staff and volunteers, the student team takes the lead in everything from the initial project planning, design details, construction, and cultural awareness needed to complete each project successfully. I've been really impressed at how dedicated all the students are to these projects as well as how much they learn and grow not just as engineers but as global citizens throughout the process as partners with the communities where they're working.”

The process for building the bridge started at the beginning of the spring semester. Engineering students from Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and the University of Illinois — Engineers in Action is a national organization with chapters at participating universities — collaborated on the student-led design of the bridge. Students from each school designed different parts of the bridge.

“We went through the whole process of designing the bridge from scratch,” said Erika Riddervold, who graduated from the Charles E. Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in May. “We were given a site plan, and we had to design the pedestrian bridge, taking into account the landscape and the community. Our priorities were safety and influence on the community, but also what was the most economical design.”

The three groups of students came up with many iterations, which they submitted to Engineers in Action’s Bridge Corps, a group of engineering professionals who lend their expertise and sign off on designs before a project advances to the construction phase. Toward the end of the semester, all involved finalized the design and made plans for traveling to the South American country for the bridge’s construction.

Riddervold, who hails from Charlottesville, Virginia, and will start a position with a transportation engineering firm in Richmond in September, served as the project manager for the Virginia Tech team and helped plan the trip. The four from Virginia Tech and six from Illinois worked with local masons hired by Engineers in Action and four members of the Bridge Corps to build the bridge. At least one Bridge Corps member travels with the team to the site to oversee the construction phase of every project.

The group allotted six weeks to build the project — but finished nearly three weeks ahead of schedule. After its completion, the local community held a celebration.

“Everyone was crossing the bridge for the first time,” Riddervold said. “The governor came and gave a speech. Community members as well gave speeches, saying how they were so grateful that we were able to come and help them build this bridge and how beneficial it would be. It was very heartwarming to kind of to see the impact that we were able to have.”

Macias echoed similar thoughts.

“It was a great experience for me,” she said. “Before the trip, I was almost like nervous about the entire construction process because I've never had any real experience in this. I didn’t know if I'd be good. On the site, the masons and the community, they helped a lot, and they just made the process very easy. It was fun to enjoy, and now I kind of have a grasp of some of these concepts. I think it helped give me experience for several future projects or constructions.”

Hers is a lesson for other Virginia Tech freshman students with similar aspirations — get involved, gain experience, and go make a difference.