This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at NCSU chapter.
Brian Gaudio is a junior here at State and majoring in architecture. This Park Scholar has
been doing some pretty neat things here on campus and abroad, including Que Lo Que. In this
interview, he tells us a little more about this out-of-the-box operation.
What is the organization’s mission?
To reduce ethnocentrism and cultural misconceptions in the United States by building
relationships and communication networks that tell the true story of those living in
the “developing world.”
What prompted you to start an organization like this?
Four years ago I traveled to the Dominican Republic for the first time as a high school student
and underwent an experience that changed my view of the world and my place within it. The
people were amazingly generous; I could not wait to return with my friends from the US.
What urged you to name the organization Que Lo Que?
I love the informal nature of our name. Que lo que is a colloquial phrase meaning ‘hey,
whatsup?’ It is used among friends, and we used the phrase all the time throughout our trip. We
don’t travel to the Dominican to change people or fix problems, we go to learn about the village
of Las Lajas and spend time with beautiful people in a beautiful country.
How did you get involved with the Lajas community?
The Insitutue for Latin American Concern partnered our group of students with the community
of Las Lajas last year because there is a high population of youth. Since our group is comprised
of undergraduate and graduate students, we had a blast getting to know the kids of Las Lajas.
This past summer, you and the team went to the Dominican Republic to start your
research. What was the most memorable part of your trip?
Helping my host-dad Moreno construct a new window for our house was extremely memorable.
Of course, I did almost none of the hard work, but was able to learn so much from watching him
work. Having Emeli and Ebelin (my two little sisters) laugh as I failed miserably at removing
rusty nails from the old window was priceless.
On a day off, the group visited a place called 27 Charcos (waterfalls). How did you like
jumping off them?
You can’t beat the adrenalin rush when jumping down 27 consecutive waterfalls in the
mountains of Puerto Plata. The views of the naturally carved rock are just as breath-taking as the
30 ft jumps.
Do you plan on expanding and getting involved with other communities in the DR?
I would love to expand Que lo Que. If students at NC State or other universities are interested in
working with other communities in the DR, we would love to collaborate.
Now that you’ve collected some data, what’s the next step?/ What will the organization be
doing this semester?
The next step for the organization is to spread our appreciation of the DR and experiences in Las
Lajas to the NC State campus. Engaging the NC State community in off-the wall, creative Que lo
Que events is the next step, so watch out.
Want to learn more about getting involved? You can contact me at gsmejia@ncsu.edu or Hunter
Isgrig at haisgrig@ncsu.edu.