Twelve biomedical engineering students, their professor, and a former dean of the engineering school will spend spring break (Feb. 28-March 7) in Guatemala City. Follow them at this blog.
The students are currently in Associate Professor Cynthia Paschal’s BME 290F class, Service Learning and Leadership. Paschal and the class will meet Ed White, dean emeritus, who is already in Guatemala.
During the week they will work in Hospital San Juan de Dios, Manos de Amor clinic and at a local school, as well as join engineering students and faculty at Universidad del Valle for a mini-conference.
Vanderbilt students will deliver to Manos de Amor donated medical equipment secured by two students in Paschal’s previous fall semester service learning class, a three-credit hour course 
dedicated to working on service projects that could be completed in Nashville. The spring class, a one-credit hour course, offers the on-site international component involving travel during spring break.
Paschal visited Manos de Amor and Universidad del Valle in May 2008 before creating the fall course.
Students traveling to Guatemala City next week are Wade Allen, Sung Hoon Bae, Karen Baker, Jim Clear, Katherine Gray, Paul Guillod, Jessica Keener, Rosie Korman, Chris Madison, Lauren Nichols, Jessica Paulsen and Garrett Spiegel.