1. List ten things that make you feel human

• Failing an exam you studied many hours for
• Sadness, grief and loss
• Forgetting to do something you set out to do
• Not understanding a concept even after it has been explained several times
• Being confident in the wrong answer
• The Writers’ Block I have thinking of things for this blog post
• The lack of motivation I sometimes have to overcome to complete something important
• Happiness
• Helping those less fortunate
• Overcoming adversity

2. Articulate your philosophy of engagement as it pertains to your work with the GSIF / LVSIF.

Specifically discuss

1. Why should I engage?
2. How must I engage?
3. With whom must I engage?
4. What kinds of challenges, opportunities, and approaches should I care about?
5. What might my epitaph read

1. I chose to engage to help those less fortunate. I am blessed to be in a position to help others, and it is the morally righteous and just thing to do. Engaging has many benefits for the people we engage with, but also for ourselves. It is obvious that providing altruistic aid while working to create self-sustaining solutions in other countries is impactful. However, it also will help us students apply concepts from our classes into real-world solutions, work together as a team, improve our interpersonal communication skills and gives us the experience of undergraduate research.  Above all, I think the project I am on, the Sickle Cell Anemia Diagnostic Device team, is an important and impactful project in Sierra Leone.
2. GSIF has given me an unique opportunity to serve others. For this opportunity, I have to be willing to put my time and utmost effort to working on the project. It is a commitment that I made, and must stick to, for the success of the project. I also have to be a “team player” when it comes to working on the project. Everyone in the group has to be motivated, properly splitting up duties and working efficiently and intelligently unless we will not get work done on time.
3. The question of whom I must engage with is a difficult question for me to answer entirely. I have yet to be abroad and I have not met the people, researchers and clinics we will work with. At Lehigh, we have many helpful connections including Professor Cheng, Khanjan, Professor Ersoy, and all of our fellow team members. Our group still has to figure out our exact itinerary in Sierra Leone and exactly who we will be partnering with, but all our Lehigh faculty, team members and other connections will help us through every step of this process.
4. Engaging successfully is a very difficult task. It is an arduous, yet fulfilling thing to do. That being said, there are many challenges to engaging successfully. We have to make sure we use our time efficiently while in Sierra Leone. We have a lot to do there in a limited time. Also, we have to be mindful and respectful of their culture and beliefs. We cannot act like Western medicine is the correct answer to everything as that will violate the beliefs of many. We have to convince them of the benefits of our project while respecting their culture. The most amazing part of this program is the opportunity we get. As undergraduates still in school, we have the opportunity to make an impact and improve people’s lives. We have to be careful in our approach, but if we are personable, listening to community feedback and eventually create a working device, the marketing process should be straight-forward and we will be able to make a difference in Sierra Leone.

5. I don’t really know how long an epitaph should be, but I know I want it to show me for who I was a person. My goal in life is to continue to serve in any way I can while being a great son, father, grandfather and more. I also want my epitaph to be personable, so I am truly remembered for who I am as a person. I want it to read, “Conner Calzone, a loving man, husband and father who was dedicated to helping others”. I also want one of my favorite quotes beneath it: “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday”.