Three students, all Duchossois Scholars, and their mentor Carlo Segre, Duchossois Leadership Professor of Physics, recently volunteered in Cusco, Peru, to help the local community. The students included WenWen Xi (ITMG 2nd year), Molly Urbina (MMAE 2nd year), and Zachary Bonson (AE 2nd year).

For five days, Segre and the students mixed concrete and laid bricks to help build a children’s clinic and a dog shelter. They stayed with a local family and ate meals in the home. They then had the opportunity to sightsee in the region for five days, climbing Machu Picchu, seeing Incan ruins, and ziplining.

“This was a broader experience than just traveling or doing tourism,” said Segre. “You get to see others’ experiences when you live and work with them. We were there doing projects important to the community. It also was also a bonding experience for the students.”

Duchossois Scholars are top students who have demonstrated exceptional leadership potential and academic success. The Cusco trip was part of their leadership development and service activities. The Duchossois Scholars program challenges students—through course study, mentorships, internships, service, and leadership development activities—to think boldly and creatively in their field, and across disciplines.

Duchossois Scholars are selected prior to entering Illinois Tech as first-year students. The deadline is December 1 for applications for the 2018 Duchossois Leadership Scholars entering class.