Meet Alex, Brie, and Ben!

(From left: Alex, Brie, Ben)

Hi Friends!

Welcome to our summer blog!

To start off, we wanted to tell you a little bit about our project, and ourselves. We have been working on VAM Girls Academy for two years as part of a group called Sustainable Education Ghana. This summer, we're visiting our site in Ghana to do some fieldwork, improve the existing site, and help VAM get a school up and running as soon as possible.

A little more on us below:

Alex Zink

Architecture

5th year (just graduated)

I care about VAM Girls Academy because I care about building sustainably and I educating and treating women equally. I joined CUSD so that I supplement my architecture education with sustainable design. In designing VAM Girls Academy, I learned about using local materials and passive cooling to make a building more comfortable and environmentally friendly.

Brianna Hartner

Civil Engineering

Rising Junior

I care about VAM Girls Academy because education is one of the greatest tools anyone can receive. I wouldn't be where I am today without my education so I'm grateful to have the opportunity where I can help create a space where more women can become educated.

Ben Ross

Civil Engineering

Rising Senior

I care about VAM Girls Academy because I believe so deeply and passionately in the multiple causes this academy addresses. This includes not only building sustainably, but living sustainably, and creating a forum through which that lifestyle can permeate deep into our cultures. This also includes addressing and tackling the many unjust inequalities that still exist in the world today, namely sexism and access to one of human-kind’s most valuable resources, education.