Urbina brings students to Peru as part of Pathway Fellows program

May 12, 2015 – Jordan Smith of Frederick, Maryland, is excitedly nervous for his trip to Peru. He has spent the past year learning Spanish and about Peruvian culture, in addition to taking the regular sophomore mechanical engineering course load.

Smith and 10 of his College of Engineering peers are leaving for Peru this month to attend classes at the Universidad de ESAN (UESAN) in Lima and work on an electrical engineering project with their Peruvian peers at the university.

Smith, who has never traveled abroad before, is an Engineering Pathways Fellow – a group of Penn State engineering students committed to being in a collaborative learning community during their four years in college.

“I am honored that I was chosen. I would not have received all these wonderful opportunities otherwise,” he said. “My level of gratitude is through the roof. We’ve been given a great privilege and we have a responsibility to pay if forward during our stay in Peru.”

As fellows, the students are recipients of a National Science Foundation award procured through a proposal submitted by Amy Freeman, assistant dean of engineering diversity, and Julio Urbina, associate professor of electrical engineering.

According to Freeman, the Pathway Fellows project was designed to recruit and retain underrepresented students, women and first-generation scholars in STEM fields through renewed scholarships, retention programming and professional development.

“All of the Pathway Fellows entered Penn State in 2013 as engineering students, and all have participated in continuing retention programming such as the six-week Pre-First Year in Science and Engineering summer bridge, special housing in First Year in Science and Engineering House and faculty mentoring,” she said. “This specific international project has been the focus of weekly meetings throughout the spring of 2015 as the fellows learn more about the importance of being globally articulate and engaged.”

Urbina, who is from Peru and currently working there as a Fulbright Scholar at his alma mater, the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería in Lima, set up the learning opportunity for the fellows. He coordinated the study abroad opportunity with Jorge A. Talavera, president of UESAN and a Penn State graduate. Together, the two are creating an exchange opportunity for the fellows to use the state-of-the-art engineering facilities at UESAN to work on a project and for UESAN students to come to Penn State and do the same.

“I expect to gain a lot educationally, from this trip,’ said James Gamble Jr., a sophomore chemical engineering student from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “It’ll be a great way to improve my Spanish and learn about different cultures by working with students at the university.”

Like Smith, Gamble has been studying Spanish and is excited not only use the language he is studying, but to travel abroad for the first time.

“Not only have I never traveled abroad before, I’ve only been off the East Coast a few times to visit Tennessee. I expect to gain a lot educationally from this trip and have a great experience working with students from another country,” Gamble said. “I’m proud to be placed in this program during its infancy.”

While in Peru, the students will keep a travel blog providing daily information on their project and their insights into the experience.