Stetson Students Take Knowledge and Service Abroad with Mercer on Mission

Students at the Mercer University – Eugene W. Stetson School of Business & Economics will have the opportunity this summer to join the University’s “Mercer on Mission” program, which will deploy 181 students and 20 faculty members to 11 different locations in South America, Africa and Asia.

The program will send students from various schools throughout Mercer University to sites around the world, offering them the chance to learn through service while also encountering new cultures and people.

This year’s program will include the University’s 10th visit to Vietnam, during which biomedical engineering students will work at clinics in the cities of Ben Tre, Can Tho and Hua Giang, fitting amputee patients with the Universal Socket Prosthesis — a prosthetic developed by associate professor of biomedical engineering, Dr. Ha Vo. During just three weeks time, students are expected to fit nearly 500 amputees. However, thanks to new funding and government support, the program is in the process of expanding to fit nearly 10,000 amputees each year.

Dr. Antonio Saravia from the Stetson School alongside Dr. Adam Kiefer and Dr. Clara Mengolini from the College of Liberal Arts will lead nineteen students in service work in Ecuador. Here, students will work alongside coffee growers to improve their production and distribution processes. They will also work with artisanal gold miners, helping to reduce their exposure to toxic levels of mercury. Also from Stetson, Dr. Etienne Musonera and Dr. Gerry Mills will lead 12 students to Rwanda to help those still devastated from the 1994 genocide to develop small businesses and support their families.

Mercer on Mission began in 2007, and has since offered more than 1,000 students the opportunity to travel abroad and effect meaningful change. Other projects available to students this summer include installing solar-powered lights in Peru, robotics training for North Korean refugees, and reducing lead exposure in Madagascar.

regions: Atlanta

About the Author