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Situated beneath the concrete cross, they watched as the sun descended into the vastness. They were hundreds of miles from their Catholic roots, but the cross—the symbol of their faith—was just as powerful. “Follow the cross on the hill and you will find hope,” a young voice said. Hope is unerringly what this group of students and faculty brought to a small village in Honduras: five years ago, hope was brought in the form of a 25-foot concrete cross that Villanova students constructed, and this past March, a different group of students provided even more hope.

Fourteen engineering students and faculty spent the duration of spring break, Feb. 28 to March 6, on a mission trip to Amigos de Jesus in Honduras, where they constructed layout work for a new school and gathered information for potential projects. Dr. Shawn Gross, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and faculty member who accompanied the students said: “This mission trip is unique because it is tied to technical aspects of engineering that we study in the classroom.”

At Amigos de Jesus, a Catholic boys’ orphanage, the civil engineers performed manual labor, and the mechanical engineers worked on solar power development. The students also spent time with the boys— helping with homework, playing games and enjoying each other’s company.

“Every night we said prayers with the boys, and it was so amazing to hear how thankful they were,” said mechanical engineer John Boring ’04. “It was incredibly inspiring because compared to us, they barely have anything. But really, they have so much more.”

This marked the fifth trip to Amigos de Jesus. It started in 1999 when civil engineer Anthony Granese ‘89 , one of the founders of the orphanage, contacted Gross and Dr. David Dinehart, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, with the intention to develop a relationship between the University and the orphanage. Therefore, that year during spring break, eight students traveled with Dinehart and Gross and constructed the concrete cross, which now serves as a symbol of hope and guidance. In subsequent years, students built a chapel and a volunteer center.

Students enrolled in the Senior Capstone Design Project were given this opportunity. Since additional space became available, underclassmen were invited to attend. Also, this marked the first year that mechanical engineers were included.

Students who participated were Carolyn Conlee ‘04, Andrew Blasetti ‘04, Liza Dhamer ‘04, John Boring ‘04, Dennis Stefanski ’04, Sarah Banas ‘04, Elizabeth Kenyon ‘05, James Troise ‘05, Jeffrey Cook ‘05, James Sutton ‘05 Robert Guinivan ‘06, and Melissa Guinivan ‘??, accompanied by Gross and Dinehart. The mission trip is co-sponsored by the department, college, and Campus Ministry.