Civil
Engineering organizes summer camp to encourage community service
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), through
its Civil Engineering Society (CES), organized, in June, a summer
camp for students so they could gain hands-on civil engineering experience
while doing community service. About 15 students and two AUB faculty
members participated in the 2006 Civil Summer Camp, which was jointly
conducted and co-funded by the Economic and Social Fund for Development
(ESFD) at the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), and
supported by the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture.
"The purpose of this summer camp was to motivate students to
become active in community service, year-round, while at the same
time doing practical engineering work," said Mounir Mabsout,
professor and chair of civil and environmental engineering. "We
would really like to develop a culture of community service."
For Mabsout, the camp was not just about service and practical experience.
It was also about character building. "It gave students the chance
to learn about responsibility, maturity and discipline," he said.
"It also instilled the spirit of volunteerism among students."
Professor Mabsout added that because of the success of the activity,
the camp will become an annual event.
The camp, which was held between the Spring and Summer semesters,
gave students the opportunity to do community development work for
one week, at the remote village of Mishmish in the upper Akkar region.
The 15 civil engineering students who joined the camp assisted in
public works and construction of a healthcare center and a center
for agricultural development in the village. They also helped local
scouts groups clean up the forest. Moreover, the AUB students also
tutored village students in math and other subjects to help them prepare
for the official government Brevet exams.
"It was a great experience," said Nadim Azar, a third-year
civil engineering student and member of the Civil Engineering Society,
"because we discovered a new area in Lebanon, and we got to interact
with another religious community." His voice resonating enthusiasm,
he added: "I wish the camp had run for a longer period."
Azar said that the group of students who participated in the camp
had bonded so well together that their classmates now all want to
join next year's camp.
Patrick Mattar, a fourth-year civil engineering student and president
of the Society, was equally enthusiastic about his experience. "The
camp was great because I felt it not only gave us practical experience
but it helped motivate villagers to work to develop their town,"
he said. "It was an all-around great experience: we got to do
community development and also experience nature and village life,
which is rather worthwhile for us, city-dwellers."
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