When my sophomore year at Lehigh was beginning, I started to panic. It felt like so many of my friends began working under a professor doing research, or were being pursued for an internship, or had returned from some elite shadowing opportunity over the summer. And I sat and looked at my schedule and thought…what is this for? Just more credits and credits and credits—the same systematic processes that is classwork, I’ve been doing since 5 years old. And as I saw friends and peers begin to engage in such exciting opportunities, I questioned how I can do that. Certainly it’s true that these things look great on a resume and help diversify oneself in career applications, but apart from that, it was purposeful. It’s real life applications in the field and in your face. All these classes we are required to take, while exceedingly crucial to any success, become a bit melancholy. I was longing for a reason to stick it out—to be reminded that there’s an end to homeworks and exams, and there’s a place where impact finally begins. Like many of my peers in CINQ 396 stated on Tuesday night, this is our passion. When Professor Herz emailed me about an opening on a 397 project, I was ecstatic. I felt like this was my chance to finally apply my learned technical skills with my innate drive for something bigger. Since joining, I have not only assured these feelings, but have also realized how much more there is to gain. I am learning more about business and marketing and product development faster and more efficiently than I ever would have without this class. Yes, as a bioengineering we are learning a wide range of information applicable to my major, but not so much those little things that overlap from others. And in the real world, its the culmination of ALL of those skills that lend to success. When I heard the opportunities offered from being a Global Social Impact Fellow, applying was a no-brainer. I get to continue to work on what I am passionate about, continue leading an effort for real-world change, and continue working with project partners and mentors I love. But not just that, I am also given an entire class (CINQ 396) focused particularly on further developing those “little thing” skills from all facets of sustainable impact AND an incredible field work opportunity in Sierra Leone. Given the effect and pride this project has given me in just one semester already, I cannot imagine the gratitude and satisfaction I will feel after completing this opportunity and becoming an immensely more well-rounded student. I think the experience given to GSIFs to work on the ground in our country of focus is an opportune time it learn more about culture and how it effects sales, success, and sustainability. It is imperative these things be taken into account when developing a project, but it is hard to know what’s truly going on if you have not been exposed to it first hand. This class will allow full immergence into the culture of Sierra Leone so we can better serve the general public in our efforts to fight malnutrition with our product.
With the data for Kenyan optometrists being as little as one to one million people, my first instinct to help enact change would be to initiate and fund educational programs. Having the government fund programs like this increases the opportunity for jobs as well as the number of people able to sign off on prescription glasses. This starts a ripple effect, where more doctors means more prescriptions, which means higher demand of a product, equaling more distribution. Distribution efforts, in turn, should also first be funded by government initiatives to get the ball rolling and help establish more reachable networks in communities in Kenya. Another path for solution could potentially be organizing case studies for different communities such that those people are given direct access to the necessary doctors and resources to get eyeglasses and improve their day to day lives. The only risk factor with this approach is that without up-keep, these solutions tend to be temporary and not always reliable in the long term. However, with maintenance from established organizations or the U.N., this could be a very good way of getting resources out and cycling in the community. Hopefully, these ideas would start a chain reaction and draw more attention to the issue by showing how a little help can go a long way in improving the lives of these people.