Ethical Issue:

 

Don’t know if the citizens Lesotho are being fairly compensated/benefiting from the research

 

1: The facts

 

Researchers are going into Lesotho for two weeks (a team of 10) to research the life cycle and characteristics of a pathogen found in this region’s water. In order to do this, they need the community’s assistance to show them water sources as well as methods of storing water. The end goal is publication, profiling of the pathogen, and development of additives to counteract the pathogen.

 

2: The Stakeholders

1. Academic University
2. You (research team)
3. People of Lesotho
4. Academic partnerships/ Funders

 

3: Motivations of the Stakeholders

1. Academic University: They want recognition for their research (promote their personal brand). They might also want to attract prospective students. 
2. You (research team): To gain recognition from your field of work and a publication. Begin a development of chemical additives to make the water safe to drink. It could also be more professional because you might be bound to do the research because of the company you work with.
3. People of Lesotho: They would want to help the researchers with the expectation that the researchers would help educate them about safe drinking water. Maybe they would want to build partnerships with people from a different country/organization.However, there might be a problem with this because they might give you information to satisfy you.
4. Academic partnerships/Funders: To be apart of a publication and as a result of that gain more money which they can use to fund more projects, our findings will add to a wider body of knowledge on the pathogen and their reputation

 

4: Potential Approaches (numbered for corresponding solutions)

1. Duty-Based Thinking
   1. It only seems right to compensate the participants because we are using their knowledge for research purposes 
2. Virtue Based 
   1. Because the citizens of Lesotho are being generous enough to help researchers 

 

1. Potential Solution 1: Provide sufficient financial compensation to community members who provide critical assistance and knowledge to the project 
   1. Pros
      1. Receiving financial assistance if they missed normal work to help the project 
      2. Incentive enthusiastic participation (easier to convince someone to participate)
      3. If we pay people, they are more likely to share more water sources 
   2. Cons
      1. Takes away from the funding of the project that could be used for something else 
      2. Providing too much or too little financial compensation might seem rude or undermining 
      3. May have too many volunteers which could create saturation of information 
2. Potential Solution  2: Provide educational compensation (education around the current status of their drinking water and its impact on their health, along with sharing our future findings) to community members who provide critical assistance and knowledge to the project 
   1. Pros
      1. Will help educate the community members about the safety of drinking water in their community 
      2. Those members can educate others about the safety of drinking water to spread awareness 
      3. Creates more empowerment and inclusion in the project 
   2. Cons
      1. Community may already know the water is unsafe and will feel that the researchers believe they are uneducated 
      2. Information on safe drinking water may not be perceived as correct based on cultural beliefs and level of science knowledge 
      3. May create panic as community members feel that they have no sources of safe drinking water and cause unrest 
3. Potential Solution  3: We don’t compensate them but distribute the additive that is developed to the community 
   1. Pros
      1. There is no unfairness in financial compensation to the participants 
      2. We are still giving back to the community but not to the participants directly  
      3. Save money
   2. Cons
      1. The willing participants do not directly benefit from our use of their time or labor
      2. If we do not succeed, then there is no benefit to anybody
      3. People are unwilling to participate because they are not being compensated

Possible solutions:

1. Publishing the research results in an open source journal 
2. Talking to the leaders of communities and establishing some sort of small incentives for the community members 

5. Seek Additional assistance

1. IRB approving 
   1. This may be helpful in selecting which participants you will use in the study
2. Peers
   1. Maybe there have been other researchers who have done a study at Lesotho that may provide insight into the culture
3. Inner Reflection
   1. As a researcher, do you ethically feel okay with what you are doing ‘

6. Select the best course of action

1. Solution 2 is the best course of action because it gives the citizens of Lesotho with something more substantial. If we were to give them money they would eventually use it all so it is only short term. If we were able to educate them they would be able to keep the information for longer and even pass it on which is more long term than money. Also if we didn’t compensate them we would be able to use the funding elsewhere.

7. Implications 

1. Economic –> because we are paying participants they will have money that they may be able to spend in their community that they may not have. This then means there is more money circulating than there was previously.
   1. this research if produces results would bring more attention the area of Lesotho. This could potentially increase tourist attractions.
2. Social –> allows for the citizens to engage with other members outside of their community

1.Refine the detailed income statement for your venture for two years (at six month intervals) or a more appropriate time scale. Explicitly state the assumptions that underlie your financial model. (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-WIxZ3CC9vYgOMTpigO463_WqpJ4y-VNHmjukTpSUmM/edit#gid=576516736)

 

See the assumptions listed in Question 3.

2.Refine the Business Model for your venture based on your revenue model. You may use the Osterwalder BMC to refine your business model but prepare one or more visuals that explain how your venture will work and accomplish your BHAG.

 

Partner network Shipping/Transportation services       PCA UPD	Key Activities Processing Copra to create value added products Coconut Milk, Flour, Oil, Vinegar, Wine etc.	Offer Increase the income of smallholder filipino coconut farmers by providing them with faster, efficient, and value-added drying systems for their copra.		Customer Relationship Personal Assistance with technology use and finances  User Communities	Customer Segments Filipino Entrepreneurs Low Income Coconut Farmers
	Key Resources Engineers and employees to operate the machinery Machinery required to process coconuts Money to fund R&D			Distribution Channels Local processing plants Farmers
Cost structure Fixed Costs: Communications, Utilities, Transportation, Marketing/Managing Staff Variable Costs: Raw Materials for machinery / value-added product, Shipping, Production costs of product Economies of Scale: Reduce average cost/unit with increased sales due to lower fixed costs. Economies of Scope:  Leverage resources for more operations, Ex. Make more profits by using same machinery for two different value added products, instead of two different machines			Revenue Streams Asset sales from selling the machine to entrepreneurs in the Philippines (2 Options: $23,999.95 upfront or payback option of $2000  every 2 months over 24 months)   Maintenance Contract (entrepreneurs only), $2799.95 for an annual subscription

3. Develop an M&E plan for your venture.

• Clearly list all assumptions.

 

+Assume that our venture will be launched in 2 years from now

+Assume that the cost of production is $17,000 per machine 

+Assume that we will be able to sell our product at a price of ~$24,000

+Assume that we will be able to scale production

+Assume that 1 machine can impact 100 coconut farmers (entrepreneurs will be able to network to this amount of farmers)

+Assume the copra farmers will want to use our technology

+As of right now we are assuming exponential growth of overhead costs

 

• Identify short-term and long-term success metrics.

 

Short-term

• Total number of machines sold
• Efficiency of the machine (ie. Quality of copra, value-added products produced, robustness)
• Net profit after one year (*MOST IMPORTANT)

Long-term

• Percent increase in average income of copra farmers (*MOST IMPORTANT)
• Total number of coconut farmers that use the machine
• Steady growth in number of machines manufactured and sold

 

• Identify specific methods to measure the metrics.

• Track additional income generated for smallholder farmers (method to be determined)
• Track additional income generated for local entrepreneurs (method to be determined)
• Track number of machines sold annually
• Consumer input (from both the entrepreneur and customers of the entrepreneur)
• Measure volume of products produced

 

• Develop a detailed income statement for your venture for two years (at six month intervals). Explicit state the assumptions that underlie your financial model.

2. Identify two SPECIFIC funding sources for the design phase of your project and two SPECIFIC funding sources for the dissemination (implementation / distribution / commercialization) phase of your project. For each funding source, explain why this is a good fit for your project, and what SPECIFIC aspect of your project might the funding source support.

 

Design Phase:

 

USAID: $35 Million Water and Energy for Food Challenge (WE4F)

This initiative aims to increase sustainable agricultural and food value-chains, food security, and climate resilience in developing countries and emerging markets – with a focus on the poor and women by investing in small enterprises that work in combinations of food, water, and energy. This grant seems like a good fit to our project because our coconut processing in the Philippines lies in the perfect intersection of energy, water, and technology.

Source: https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/oct-23-2019-usaid-announces-35-million-water-and-energy-food-challenge  

 

The Global Innovation Fund supports the development of social impact ventures by investing in innovations that aim to improve the lives and opportunities of millions of people in the developing world. This investment is an appropriate fit for our project because our goal is to improve the lives of coconut farmers in the Philippines by generating additional income through the innovation of a new technology that processes value-added coconut products. 

https://www.globalinnovation.fund/

 

Dissemination Phase:

 

SOW Asia is a charitable foundation based in Hong Kong that supports early-stage social enterprises working to scale their social impact. They have an accelerator program that supports social enterprises by providing investments through opening networks to help build connections and find funds. Their goal and vision is to help local social enterprises attract external funding and become self-sustaining. Due to the fact that SOW Asia is looking to increase impact, we believe that they could be a perfect match for our project when we reach the point where we are ready for dissemination and scaling.

http://www.sowasia.org/about-sowsaia

 

DBS supports over 100 social enterprises in Asia since 2012. They support social enterprises that are looking to scale their business to increase social impact by improving operational capacity, innovation capabilities, and geographical reach. Specifically, they look to support social enterprises that not only have a market validated business product/solution with clear plans to scale up business, but are also committed towards scaling social impact. We believe that once our venture is up and running, financial support from DBS will prove very helpful as we try to scale up.

https://www.dbs.com/foundation/our-support/grant-programme

 

3. Identify five specific partnerships that you need to forge to advance your project forward with the ultimate goal of positively impacting at least one million people. Describe exactly how that partnership might help you achieve scale and why that entity might be willing to work with you.

 

Philippines Coconut Authority (PCA)

PCA is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Agriculture mainly responsible for developing the coconut industry to “its full potential in line with the new vision of a united, globally competitive and efficient industry.” The PCA might be willing to work with us, because our goal aligns well with their mission – we aim to develop a novel value-added coconut processing that will improve the livelihood of coconut farmers. If our technology and products are approved and endorsed by the PCA, this will help increase our credibility and improve our product’s marketability. In addition, our partnership with PCA will give us the opportunity to reach out to a rigorous network of coconut companies and, of course, a community of 3.5 million coconut farmers.

 

UPD

Our partnership with UPD will allow us to leverage the proximity of the HEED students working on the project in the Philippines to the copra farmers. Their ability to access stakeholders who can be easily reached in the Philippines will help drive our project forward by allowing us to utilize important stakeholder information without physically being there. This partnership will also provide us with additional research from UPD students and will act as a resource for getting to know specific aspects of the Philippines that influence our project.

 

The Philippines Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (PPSA)

PPSA brings together companies, government agencies, civil society organizations, farmer groups, and financial institutions to link smallholder farmers to the market. Their main goal is to improve farmers’ profitability and productivity while increasing environmental sustainability. As our project aims to improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers, partnering with this organization will give us more direct access to the smallholder farmers and allow us to have a larger impact on their lives.

 

Axelum Resources Corporation 

Axelum Resources Corporation is a Filipino company with a global mindset. They deliver premium products to the global market while maintaining a spirit of communal unity, work, and cooperation. A partnership with Axelum would prove beneficial for both sides. We would trade our processed goods to them, which would provide both sides with security. In addition, by partnering with us they would be able to continue to support local communities as that is part of our mission as well.

 

Innovation For Social Impact Partnership (isip)

 

This partnership aims to support innovative social enterprises in the Philippines to collectively contribute to the achievement, acceleration, and sustainability of sustainable development goals. They provide targeted assistance to SE’s in becoming scalable and sustainable ventures that create a positive social change through workshops and mentorship programs. This partnership would be willing to work with us because our goals align and we are also focused on creating a novel, sustainable, and social change for copra farmers in the Philippines.

 

1. Refine your Business Model Canvas:

1.Include a Visual Canvas

2.Extremely specific notes for each block

 

*****LET IT BE KNOWN – We do not have A SPECIFIC PRODUCT in mind yet*****

 

Partner network Shipping/Transportation services PCA UPD	Key Activities Processing Copra to create value added products Coconut Milk, Flour, Oil, Vinegar, Wine etc.	Offer Increase the income of smallholder filipino coconut farmers by providing them a faster, efficient, and value-added drying systems for their copra.		Customer Relationship Personal Assistance with technology use and finances  User Communities	Customer Segments Filipino Entrepreneurs Low Income Coconut Farmers
	Key Resources Engineers and employees to operate the machinery Machinery required to process coconuts Money to fund R&D			Distribution Channels Local processing plants Farmers
Cost structure Fixed Costs: Staff Wages, Utilities Variable Costs: Raw Materials for machinery / value-added product, Shipping, Production costs of product Economics of Scales: Reduce average cost/unit with increased sales due to lower fixed costs. Economies of Scope:  Leverage resources for more operations, Ex. Make more profits by using same machinery for two different value added products, instead of two different machines			Revenue Streams Asset sales from selling the machine to entrepreneurs in the Philippines (2 Options: $349 upfront or payback option of $29 every 2 months over 24 months)   Subscription for maintenance fees (entrepreneurs only), $99 for an annual subscription

 

3.Explain how exactly you will deliver an end-to-end solution.

 

We design and manufacture a machine that we then sell to Filipino entrepreneurs, who will then maintain and provide services for farmers at a centralized location.

 

2.Ten practical lessons from the business (revenue) models of ventures we reviewed today (or others you research) as they relate to your venture.

 

1. Envirofit found success by designing devices that are practically price, easy to use, environmentally friendly, and provide health benefits for its users. By doing this they’ve created a desirable product for low income individuals, which is something that we are looking to do.

 

1. Envirofit has done an excellent job of getting their product out there. The way they use international distributors and local businesses to get their product to the people that need it is something that we can learn from and apply to our project.

 

1. Reel Gardening found success by making their device incredibly easy to use. Our project, along with probably every venture, needs to consider how consumers will use our product and how we can make it easier.

2. The way Reel Gardening paired their seed strips with an app to provide additional instruction is a great way to integrate simple technology into their design. Additionally, it shows that they’ve put a great deal of thought as to how to optimize user experience, which is something we will need to do when designing our product.

 

1. Greyston Bakery’s business model is to crow about hiring people who’ve been marginalized from the workforce. They do not pay attention to what people have done in the past. They are interested in what they’re going to do in the future, and they invest money and support into helping them to be successful into helping them to be successful in the future. 

 

1. Greyston Bakery creates a business model such that it both made profits but also contributed positively to the community.

 

1. The partnership with Ben & Jerry’s allowed Greyston to transition from a small local business to a supplier for a well-known company. However, Greystone adopts a Benefit Corporation model to allow it to keep implementing its social and environmental agenda. 

 

1. This venture was very unique because it was an educational system that allowed the students to be teachers and the teachers to be students. The indigenous knowledge of the Students was then cultivated by the teachers to improve crops on the land, design solar cookers, install solar panels and so on. This example emphasizes the importance of indigenous knowledge which will be very crucial to the success of our final product. 

 

1. This method although it was not sustainable as it relied on the grants for materials and construction it created a wealth of knowledge that could be shared and spread to benefit more areas that are similar. Creating a wealth of knowledge that is applicable to other communities is something we hope to replicate when we scale our final product to other communities. 

 

1. This venture also focused on empowering women as they can have a huge impact on the progression of a community. Instead of giving women a certificate such as a degree, they are given knowledge to solar electrify homes/entire villages. From the speaker it was mentioned that men generally want a degree and to move to a big city to apply their knowledge whereas the women stay behind. These women can be empowered with knowledge and make an impact on their own community which is a strategy we could use for the low income copra farmers in the Philippines.

GSIF Post #9

1. Develop a Business Model for your venture using the Osterwalder Business Model Canvas. 

Value Proposition: For small farmers who cannot produce enough copra to make a bigger profit, our fast and cost-reducing copra oven is the copra farming equipment that saves valuable time from the drying process and increases copra production.

Customer segment: low-income, rural copra farmers who have difficulty profiting from the business

Channels: the copra ovens will be distributed through physical channels and possibly online orders through either our website or the co-op (who will be distributing the products)’s website

Customer relationships: Advertise our ovens through word-of-mouth and display shows for rural farmers in order to gain and keep customers; self-service/automated service ovens

Key Resources: Materials for building oven, finance/capital to pay for the materials and shipments, Funding for workers and project

Key Partnerships: Copra non-profit organizations, companies who will distribute our product, investors

Key Activities: since the copra group is split into three groups (engineering, science research, and business/marketing), the science research team will be trying to solve the problem of browning and molding in copra, the engineering team will be designing and producing the copra oven, and the business/marketing team will be creating a marketing strategy for the copra oven.

Revenue streams: Having a free trial period for the farmers to try the oven before they have to pay for it for advertisement; asset sale; renting/leasing; licensing

Cost structure: buy materials to build oven, pay workers, funding to keep project running

2. List ten lessons from the Business and Operations model of the Aravind Eye Hospital.
1. Create ownership in the community to the problem and then engage them as partners

2. Focusing on noncustomer and then by reaching the unreached to grow the market

3. Gave away a lot for free, charged market rate for those who could pay, and were helped by market inefficiency (were able to gain income of $22 million with expenditures of $13 million)

4. Promoted this to many hospitals and clinics in India and other parts of the world, which resulted in them doubling their output and achieve financial recovery after the second year of their consultation

5. Focus on quality instead of just economics

6. Cost control for cost-effective interventions

7. Focus on efficiency

8. Focus on productivity

9. Using technology to make it less costly for patients and easier for both staff and patient

10. Train workers in a franchise way in order to be able to have the same effects on different parts of the world for the same problem


Five compelling Take Aways from Art of the Start

1. That we need to find soul mates. This in a way relates to how our team was created. The Copra team was an all engineering team that was more focused how designing something but they hadn’t thought of how they were going to put their product on the market effectively. This is why our team exists we will show them effective ways they can put a product on the market effectively.
2. Having a specific Business model. How is what we are doing unique or different from another companies.
3. Not being afraid to reinvent something. Just because something is already made does not mean you would not be able to design a better product because of it.
4. Weave a MAT. Just having something planned out already will make it easier for someone to execute their plan on time and to its full potential.
5. Creating a mission statement that is unique to you. Anyone can have a generic mission statement but if you have one that speaks true to you and your intentions it will make stand out.

My vale propositions is a more cost effective way of drying their copra. We are alleviating a financial burden for them by cutting out the middle man. As a result of this we are becoming a support for these farmers who previously did not have a voice.

Our Total Available Market are

• copra farmers
  • received very little education
  • who live in rural areas
  • Philippino
  • Probably Married
• Coconut processing plants

Our Total Addressable Market is

• We will reach out specifically to the small copra farmers who do not have the means to keep up with the copra market.
• There is a value of 10.1 billion dollars in the coconut market
• The Philippines is the world’s second largest copra producer
  • 14.5 million tons of coconuts are produced by the Philippines
  • a quarter of total farmland of the Philippines is dedicated to the coconut

1. Summarize and report out on the results of the SKS exercise. 
   1. Start: Begin to communicate with each other better and with the engineering copra team. While the transition to another project has been difficult, if our team begins to collaborate more with the engineering team, this will help us not only with our research but with moving our project alongside with theirs. Having constant communication with their team can also help us to not have overlapping research on both ends. 
   2. Stop: Leaving things for the last minute has been a difficult challenge for our team to overcome. We tend to think we have more time than we do to meet deadlines or to perform our own research. A way for us to stop leaving things for the last minute could be to hold each other accountable for the work they are in charge of for the week, or even check in and make sure the workload they have for the week or reasonable for the time they have to dedicate to the project. 
   3. Keep: weekly meetings. Our weekly meetings are important because this is where we share the research that we have done for the week and we also have the chance to get feedback and ask each other clarifying questions if we do not understand something that is going on. Apart from research these weekly meetings allow us to build a relationship with the others on our team both socially and academic, which in the long run help move the project along because it is easier to work with people that you enjoy being around and trust. 
2. Develop a detailed Collaboration Plan for your team clearly articulating your goals (Small g and Big G), Roles, Procedures, and Relationships. 
   1. Small g: 
      1. Create an informative presentation that shows the importance of the work our team is attempting to and to effectively work alongside the engineering team in order to support the process they are taking to change the system that we are also attempting to change.  
   2. Big G: 
      1. Find a way to preserve the color and texture of the copra as well as prevent aflatoxin formation by the end of the fellowship and leave the necessary information for the next team to get started on either refining our process to preserve color and texture in a more efficient way or work on more methods that prevent aflatoxin. 
   3. Roles: 
      1. Michelle: As a biology major, I have found my role on the team as looking for a way to better preserve the copra. I have researched that the main reason why people don’t buy “bad” copra is due to the appearance of it. However the copra is perfect fine to use and eat.I have found that if we are able to find a way to stop the copra from turning “brown” copra farmers would be able to still make a profit on copra that people would not have previously bought. 
      2. Rozhin: As a Molecular Biology major, I want to research ways to stop the breakdown of the enzymes that create browning in the copra as well as methods to preserve its texture and prevent aflatoxins from forming, which are carcinogens found in molds that can be very dangerous to living organisms if consumed.
      3. Bri: 
      4. Larissa: As a cognitive science major I want to focus on how the current processing system is affecting the farmers that use it and then compare how much better or worse off they will be with the product that both the engineering team and our team will come up with. Apart from the effective the device will have, the device will require some new education on how to properly use it to its full potential and this is also a role I will play, finding the best ways to educate the farmers who will be using the device in a way that is easy for them to understand but also efficient as they may not have the time to take a long course to use the device.  
   4. Procedures: 
      1. Since everyone has different majors and focuses in this team, decision making will be depending on each person’s expertise and a final decision will be made by the person that the subject relates most to. If questions arise or a consensus is not determined then a majority vote or the involvement of the faculty will be made.
      2. In order to have effective meetings, we will be having status updates on each person’s focus and each person will be writing a brief summary of what their update is on the meeting notes section in OneNote before the meeting and can add more notes to it if any more research is needed, etc during or after the meeting.
      3. We will be meeting twice a week: once with the advisor and once with just the team members. Meeting times will be determined on a group decision every week since everyone has different schedules and we will be having meetings on Google Docs and Zoom/Facetime. 
   5. Relationships: 
      1. The Engineering Copra team is one of our relationships because we are working on different aspects of the same problem. 
      2. The University in the Philippines who will help us better when we are conducting research. They are more knowledgeable of the area and who we should speak to if we need certain data. They can also help us as our translators if that is necessary.

 

Does your work require IRB approvals?

If Yes, articulate your detailed IRB strategy.

If No, explain why you don’t need IRB approval and

identify situations when you might need IRB approval.

1. Our work with copra farmers does not require IRB approval. The only thing we need to perform our research and project will be a letter from officials in the Philippines which states what we are doing and that it is okay for us to do our project. A situation that would need IRB Approval could be a project where we are directly working with the farmers and doing research on their direct lives, collecting identifiable information from them. This would require IRB approval because we would collect this information and then have to make sure it won’t be accessible to others who could identify the people that we have surveyed. 

 

Develop an outline for your mid-semester presentations.

What supporting evidence will you provide for each point?

How will you boost your credibility every step of the way?

An outline of our mid-semester presentations will first start with an outline of what the copra project is. The project that Professor Jedlicka’s team is doing and how this will then impact our project. We can talk about how we are collaborating with the engineers on the team to see what the needs of the people are. We could also work alongside their team to learn about what vendors look for when buying the copra product. From our side of the project, we will be researching many articles regarding the best ways to design and what to include in the copra project creation as well as how the business process of copra in and outside of the Philippines, so that we can make the most efficient item for the farmers.

 

List ten things that make you human

1. The mistakes I make
   1. These mistakes I make allow me to learn. It teaches me that I am not perfect. These mistakes teach me that I am responsible for everything I do in life and if I were to make a mistake it is something I have to take responsibility for it.
2. That I do not know everything
   1. No one knows everything about the World. I have to be open to others to learn about the World and about things I have never known.
3. My ability to forgive
   1. In life I have been through many instances where I have been wronged. In these instances I wanted to stay mad at them but I knew I had to forgive them. Once I was able to forgive it would feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.
4. My constant need for attention
   1. All humans crave attention and in order to receive attention I need to do something so people are able to notice me. This then pushes me to do things that I would never do. It brings me opportunities that allow me to better myself as a person and the World.
5. My problem solving skills
   1. My brain works in a way when I am faced with a problem of how am I able to fix this and if I were able to fix it what would be the effects of that
6. Constantly asking why
   1. Humans are naturally curious and I am similar in this way. When observing the World I constantly ask why. Why does this machine work the way it does? Why do certain people interact this way? Why are we able to do these things but not others.
7.  My senses
   1. The ability for me to smell, see, taste touch and listen all allow me be to be human. They allow me to be immersed in the world and fully understand what is happening. It allows me to notice things that others may not be able to observe.
8. My ability to imagine
   1. It allows me to think more about what I am just seeing. I am able to look deeper into things and form my own thoughts from this imagination. I would be able to make connections to things.
9. My insecurities
   1. My insecurities could be thought of as my weakness. Everyone has weaknesses and they are considered the downfalls of them. However I embraces them and can better myself from them. It humbles me as a person and teaches me that I am not perfect.
10. My values
    1. Everyone has different values. Their values sometime dictates how a person reacts to things in their life. It pushes them to find their true passions or what they want to do in life. My values shape me into the person I am today.

Articulate to your philosophy of engagement as it pertains to your work with the GSIF

I want to engage because I care about this topic because it is something that is personal to me. I want to work within the medical field and this project helps me learn more about it. It also allows me to empower women, especially being a woman of color. This project allows me to work with women who are of color that are not being correctly treated by the medical field. In order to engage I have to work with the different clinics and doctors in the area. I also have to work with the mothers and navigate around the cultural aspects of it. I sit also work with the students from the Philippines so that we will be able to work efficiently and effectively. When talking to these people I must be aware that I am not here to change anything but improve it. I can not put my values or ideals on to it but work alongside them. My epitaph would read “Here lies Michelle Hu a mother, daughter, Physician whose left he mark on the World.”