Christian Fowlkes traveled to Guatemala (twice!) on an Ethos international breakout. The second trip was to finish the work they started for a local school. Not only did it forever impact his life, but it also landed him a job with Ford.

Flashback to the morning of May 22, 2023, as I sat alone at my boarding gate, twiddling my thumbs and fidgeting my legs, thinking, “Whoa … I am about to get on a plane and live in Bolivia for 10 weeks. Am I really ready for this?” 

“Welcome, do you want to go to Ecuador with us?”

That was the question posed to Molly Savage on her first day as a graduate student instructor at the University of Dayton’s ETHOS Center. Savage, who is pursuing her master’s degree in renewable and clean energy engineering at the university, said “yes” to joining the center’s 10-day volunteer trip to Ecuador organized by The Tandana Foundation. 

The University of Dayton School of Engineering recently started a new minor in human rights in engineering — and the first two students to choose the minor are graduating this December. Patrick Hoody and Andrea Hernandez, both mechanical engineering majors, credit the minor for providing them opportunities and a mindset to succeed in careers in human rights, sustainability and climate change.

For Tom Tappel ’18, ’21, the best way to learn, lead and serve within the Dayton community was to look to the future — of energy. Tappel graduated from the University of Dayton in 2018, then spent some time working as an engineer. But it wasn’t until a graduate assistantship with the ETHOS Center a few years later that Tappel dove into learning everything he could about the household energy burdens disproportionately impacting low-income families around America. He found many of those families live in buildings that were not at all energy-efficient. “I recognized the need for more investment in this area of sustainability and housing justice,” said Tappel.

UD School of Engineering faculty, staff and alumni are leading by example and showing students how to serve others with their engineering skills by improving access to water for schools in Malawi.

Having faith means trusting divine guidance when the destination is unknown. That’s what Sarah Brightfield ’22 learned when an Ethos Immersion steered her from corporate America to a West Virginia farm where she can blend vocation with service.

When I came to Dayton and toured the School of Engineering as a senior in high school, I left knowing two things:

1. I wanted to be a Dayton Flyer;
2. I wanted to be a participant in The Ethos Center program.

University of Dayton School of Engineering seniors, Eric, electrical engineering, and Emma, chemical engineering, participated in a summer Ethos Immersion with Academic City University College in Haatso, Ghana. They worked hand-in-hand with faculty, technicians and students on various sustainability-focused projects.

New leadership in the University of Dayton School of Engineering Ethos Center is deepening engagement in the Dayton community. This summer, about 15 UD students will work with 10 area organizations to connect their engineering skills with each organizations' needs and aspirations. Local community organizations, which are focused on human wellbeing, equity and sustainability, sometimes have technical needs and aspirations, or design challenges, they often don't have the time or resources to pursue.

As an international student, Bhargavi Ravi was nervous, but “just like that, UD became my home,” she said.

Fall 2019, Ravi began her engineering management graduate classes with the Department of Engineering Management, Systems and Technology at the University of Dayton and has been enthusiastically "paving her future" ever since - extensive coursework, ETHOS internship, CityWide Dayton developer and Project Management of UD president.

University of Dayton students, Rosie Errigo, renewable and clean energy graduate program, and Brianna Dooley, mechanical engineering major, coordinated with GRUPO researchers, Sandra Vergara, MSc in thermal energy systems, and Sergio Jordan, BSc mechanical engineer operations, to solve food storage dilemmas in Peru and address UN SDG #2-Zero Hunger.

Steve Osgood graduated from UD in May 2007 with a degree in chemical engineering and a minor in international business and has successfully pursued an international career in alternative energy.

Thanks to The Ethos Center, senior chemical engineering student, Molly Savage, traveled to Patna, India, where she researched and designed solar ovens.

Through the ETHOS program, engineering student Sammy Miller has learned to implement her skills to give back to the community and learn about social justice issues both locally and across the globe.

Using his engineering knowledge, skills and mindset, Salah Alshatshati helped ETHOS partner Mission of Mary reach its renewable energy and sustainability goals. He investigated and recorded energy consumption and solar generation data as part of an energy assessment to meet Mission of Mary’s goal of becoming a net-zero organization.