The NC State Chapter of Engineering Without Borders (EWB) has been supporting communities around the globe with student-led projects that not only provide impoverished communities with resources, but also give the students who participate life-changing experiences.

Engineering Without Borders is a nonprofit organization which was originally founded in 2002, aimed at providing service projects based on applications of engineering. Per the club’s website, the NC State chapter of EWB, founded in 2006, is currently running water and energy systems projects in multiple foreign nations including Guatemala and Sierra Leone.

Projects, such as the chapter’s work on building water systems in Sierra Leone, aim to provide resources to communities that are unavailable or unreliable. Through careful research, meticulous planning and correspondence with the communities themselves, a team of students can build infrastructure projects that benefit these communities for years to come.

Taylor Robertson, a fifth-year studying civil engineering, has a key role in planning and implementing projects as he is a co-lead for the club’s Sierra Leone water project. He emphasized the importance of sustainability for the organization’s international projects.

“We try to build up long-term relationships with communities,” Robertson said. “Our big thing is sustainability not just in the projects we do but with sustainability within the community. We put a big emphasis on making sure that they have ownership over the project and that they feel like it’s their project and we’re just facilitating it.”

The Sierra Leone water and renewable energy projects are just some of the many that the NC State EWB team has completed or is currently working on. Within the past few years, making trips back and forth to the African country, all parts of the EWB team were involved in helping to procure and maintain sustainable water and renewable energy systems within a community named Allentown, close to the capital of the country, Freetown. According to Robertson, multiple impressive benchmarks were achieved before completing their goal.

“That was a joint project between the water team and the renewable team,” Robertson said. “We built a well, a pump, tanks and handwashing stations and a distribution system, and the renewable team built solar panels on the roof and we used those to power our well.”

These projects are run solely by the students within the club along with guidance from staff and other engineer advisors. David Boynes, a second-year studying civil engineering and a member of EWB, reflected on the student-led nature of the organization.

“[It is a] really and completely student run project, and that’s what I really like is that it’s so independent and it makes us feel like we can go out there and start our own engineering firm,” Boynes said.

According to Boynes, his experiences with EWB have changed his view on how valuable it is to use your talents for good during college rather than just staying in the classroom and achieving a degree.

“It taught me a lot about how important it is to think about others,” Boynes said. “I’d rather have the experience of not only working in the engineering field, but working with people and trying to help them have a better life, because that’s really what matters more.”

Meanwhile, Robertson noted how important the camaraderie within the organization has affected and motivated him.

“I really love the community within EWB,” Robertson said. “There’s a lot of people that care about things that I care about as well. We all want to try to make a difference. I like the shared goals.”

NC State’s chapter of Engineering Without Borders helps both its members and those it serves through projects that bring aid to those in need. Boynes encourages those interested in joining to take the leap and join the organization, no matter their major.

“It perfectly combines the independence of working by yourself, combines a professional field, community service, and even if you are not an engineer, you can still join and you can still help,” Boynes said. “There are still ways to get involved and make a really lasting impact on people nationally and internationally.”

There is plenty of opportunity to join and contribute to NC State’s Engineering Without Borders team. Go to the NC State EWB page for more information and to see more details about its past, current and upcoming projects as well as contact information for officers of the club.