By Engineers Without Borders is helping build lasting change in Guatemala. The club, known as EWB, is part of an international organization that helps execute projects around the globe. Leading the charge is Josh Smalley, a senior from Missoula and president of Carroll College’s EWB. The two Helena chapters have outreach connections in Uganda and Guatemala.
Six club members recently traveled to Guatemala Jan. 1-8, 2025, to build new retaining walls for a schoolhouse. Smalley said the structural work for buildings in Guatemala is questionable at times due to a workaround for taxes within the country. For example, if a building is unfinished the owner of the building doesn’t have to pay taxes on it until it is completed. However, the unfinished buildings can be structurally insecure.
The club spent the 2024 fall semester planning and testing ways to build the new retaining wall. The team brought in a local mason from Helena to teach club members techniques for laying and cutting bricks before the trip to Guatemala. This was an extra step to build confidence so once there in Guatemala, they could complete the walls and improve the structural integrity of the school building.
“There were many unforeseen challenges throughout the week in Guatemala,” Smalley said. “But the team overcame them and successfully achieved their goal.”
The club is planning another trip to Guatemala during winter break 2025.
Interested in joining? Reach out to Professor Bodine at sbodine@carroll.edu.
Still unsure? Take it from Aidan McGoldrick, a junior from Belgrade, Montana, who just returned from the trip.
“It was an amazing experience; helping people was incredibly rewarding,” Aidan McGoldrick. “Despite language barriers, we built the wall and even played a great game of soccer with the locals.”
