What did you do over your winter break, collegiettes? I, for one, spent most of the time curled up in my bed with my dog, watching Netflix and reading books that had absolutely nothing do to with any of my classes. But some students, like this week’s Campus Celeb, Ryan Gordon, spent their holidays in a more productive manner than I did.
Gordon, a civil and environmental engineering major, traveled to Honduras for two and a half weeks with other Northeastern students as a part of the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) program. While there, they helped to implement new water systems in the towns of El Carrizalito and Los Oreros.
“For El Carrizalito, we assessed the community and land to develop a sustainable system that will make water more accessible to the community. In Los Oreros, we added pipes to an existing water distribution system to houses without water to improve the quality of life of the whole community,” Gordon said.
As Program Director for the trip, Gordon had to interview and pick fellow engineering students to travel with the group and learn as much about the Central American country as he could.
“Students get to travel with EWB when they show their commitment to the group… so I didn’t actually decide to go, I had to earn it,” said Gordon. “Of course, since I had never been to Honduras before, I really wanted to go to finally get a better idea of the area that we’re working in and to put everything I’ve been hearing for the past year into better perspective.”
In addition to his role as Program Director, Gordon also volunteers as a Husky Ambassador, one of the Northeastern students that leads prospective Huskies around campus, rain or shine.
“I remember when I was applying to colleges and how stressful it was, so I think it’s so important to help prospective students learn about Northeastern and help them decide if it’s a good fit for them,” said Gordon.
In addition, this semester Gordon will be a Group Leader for NU Starts, a program to help N.U.in students adjust to Northeastern after spending their first semester abroad.
“I was an N.U.in student and studying abroad for my first semester ‘at Northeastern’ in Melbourne, Australia. I had a difficult time transitioning to Northeastern during first semester back, so I’m really glad to help students with their transition to Northeastern this January,” said Gordon.
Whether he’s spending his free time telling prospective students about the virtues of Snell or using his engineering skills to help people in Honduras, Ryan Gordon is a Northeastern Campus Celeb.
We checked in with Ryan again after his trip — here’s what he said:
“My trip to Honduras was very successful. Our team was able to do a lot of assessment work in one community and built half of our designed water system in another community. Through communication and teaching how to build and maintain the system, the homeowners will be able to finish the system on their own. I was amazed by the hard work that the communities provided and the endless support that they gave us during our stay in their country. This is a trip I’ll never forget and is hopefully more than a just a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity. I’d love to go back!”