Engineers Without Borders student ‘zooms in,’ leveraging technology, teamwork to make the world better

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Natasha Saiful Andree came to Western Michigan University three years ago to explore her Midwestern roots. She was born in Kalamazoo; her parents are alumni; and the school was offering her a competitive scholarship.  

Three years later, the aerospace engineering major is leading WMU’s Engineers Without Borders (EWB) student chapter on an international mission to make the world better.

Leveraging technology, partnerships and teamwork, Saiful Andree and her peers are helping design a water system for the San Antonio de Upa community in Nicaragua—despite being unable to travel to the region due to safety and security concerns. 

The water flow system is expected to impact about 500 people, providing water to villagers for generations to come. 

The group presented their project during International Education Week 2024: Internationalization on Campus and Beyond. 

A long road to completion 

The project in San Antonio de Upa was originally launched by Western’s EWB student chapter in 2017 but has been delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and political instability, Saiful Andree says. 

Completing the project is one of the reasons Saiful Andree stays at Western. For months, the group has collaborated with a Nicaraguan designer and the EWB Country Office to test flow rates and refine design ideas. Construction is set to begin in 2025. 

Using club funds and partnering with another EWB student group at Florida International University, students will coordinate the building of three spring boxes to catch, filter and route water to a lower elevation. This will ensure water flows freely, even during the dry season, and becomes more accessible to the village. 

Becoming the leader of such an ambitious international project was daunting, Saiful Andree, 20, admits. What’s even more terrifying, however, is the project's complexity and necessity.  

“There is no other steady source of water,” she says. “That’s the terrifying reality. Five-hundred people—that’s a lot of lives to think about. We’re creating a water distribution system for them that will work properly and be maintained for at least 20 years.” 

Engineering roots 

Saiful Andree's path to engineering began in high school, when she joined the Western Mass Wright Flight program in her hometown of Westfield, Mass. There, she developed an interest in planes, drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), eventually completing an Advanced Placement Seminar project on UAVs and presenting her findings at a school science fair. 

She knew, however, that to take her work to new heights, she needed to leave her small hometown. She decided to explore a move back to Kalamazoo. Saiful Andree spent hours perfecting her application to the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at WMU, even writing an essay about her interest in the Engineers Without Borders student group. 

Although she intended to major in aerospace engineering, she was also passionate about math and mechanical engineering. Participation in EWB, she believed, would broaden her perspective. 

‘Zooming in’ on the project 

Sitting in the student center this October, Saiful Andree pulls up Google Earth on her laptop, lamenting how the group had to cancel their visit due to safety concerns and EWB’s travel policy. The setback was devastating, but not debilitating. 

She zooms in on the map of Central America, clicking deeper into Nicaragua, past the provincial capital of Matagalpa, past the rural town of San Ramón and beyond the village of San Antonio de Upa. She stops at a small blue line in the midst of a thick forest.  

“This,” she says, pointing to the digital spec on the map, “is the water’s spring. We can see the picture here.” 

Western students are making this place better, learning new things every step of the way, she continues.  “I stay at Western because of the people here. I have friends here now. 

"I also have this. I will make sure it gets done before I get done here.” 

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