From a dermatology toolkit to autism help

By Robin Shurmur ʼ27

Macalester’s Live It Fund gives internationally-minded Mac students what they need to develop innovative solutions to global problems, providing funding and structured support for individual initiatives. Students receive up to $2,000 for projects over J-Term, and/or a $6,348 stipend and $500 in project funding for the longer summer break term.

We asked some of this year’s participants about their experiences working on their Live It Fund projects.

Alison Harris ʼ25 and Sabine Sullivan ʼ25
Shades of Injustice

Shades of Injustice seeks to create a toolkit that targets both patients and physicians, highlighting the ways skin color can affect various skin conditions and impact the quality of care. This toolkit contains infographic posters, an eye-catching educational cube designed to passively spread awareness to patients, and a website designed to highlight patient experiences and connect them to dermatology resources. An integral part of Shades of Injustice’s mission is to increase patient literacy and facilitate meaningful conversation between patient and physician.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered so far, and what was the biggest learning experience? The biggest challenge was online ordering! We have ordered multiple prototypes and they still have not been exactly what we’re looking for! We learned to be okay with things taking longer than we had anticipated! We had to seriously readjust our timeline.

What are you most excited to bring back to the Mac community? We are so excited to showcase a physical prototype of our toolkit with the Mac community, especially those who have supported and followed our progress since last summer!

David Manguluti ʼ28
The International Climate Resilience Hub

The Climate Resilience Hub is a scalable and redistributable, capacity-building curriculum aimed to help at-risk-youth in climatically vulnerable states, with a focus on southern East Africa to accelerate the spread of climate-based knowledge resources to low-income youth.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered so far, and what was the biggest learning experience? The biggest challenge was finding people willing to have open, honest and difficult conversations on such pertinent controversial topics like displacement, climate disasters, etc. The biggest learning experience was having to learn everything with the BUILD model, hearing firsthand climate experiences and expanding ideas as how to best help people w/a possible prototype.

Who have been your key project partners? How have they supported you in realizing your vision? The UNICEF Emergency Disaster Team has been super helpful in giving me the most detailed and accurate information about disaster management. As well as connecting me to youth in their network.

What are you most excited to bring back to the Mac community? I am most excited to bring a renewed sense of community, on a personal level. This project helped me re-understand how I seek to be in a community of empathy that focuses on useful action to fight climate change. I want to foster discussions about our role in globalisation and our responsibility to contribute/engage critically to the most pertinent challenges, specifically that of climate poverty. Ultimately, I want us to be thinking about how we connect to the broader world, outside the Macalester bubble.

Ethen Kantu ʼ26
Clean Water for All: Mpongwe Borehole Initiative

The Mpongwe Borehole Project aims to provide sustainable access to clean water for the rural community of Mpongwe, Zambia. Utilizing solar-powered pumps and guided by local leadership, the initiative will address persistent water challenges while fostering community engagement and long-term impact. This project reflects a commitment to improving public health, reducing water scarcity, and empowering local resources.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered so far, and what was the biggest learning experience? A major challenge I faced during the Mpongwe Borehole initiative was the excessive rainfall, which made the terrain too soft and unstable. As a result, the drilling company refused to transport their equipment to the site, fearing that it would sink into the ground, causing significant delays and requiring me to find alternative solutions to keep the project on track. Through the Mpongwe Borehole initiative, I’ve learned that not everything in a project goes as planned, and unexpected challenges are inevitable. This experience has taught me the importance of patience, adaptability, and maintaining a problem-solving mindset, as unforeseen circumstances can arise at any stage, requiring flexibility and perseverance to navigate effectively.

What are you most excited to bring back to the Mac community? I’m excited to bring back the lessons I’ve learned from the Mpongwe Borehole project—especially around community impact, collaboration, and sustainability—to inspire and contribute to meaningful initiatives at Macalester.

Fabian Flores Solano ʼ28
Hablando por México

The economic development program ‘Hablando por México’ is a beacon of hope, aiming to promote and empower the Mazahua community from Rosa del Calvario at the Municipality of San Felipe del Progreso, in Mexico. Through professional and social preparation workshops in Spanish and Mazahua about capital management, business entrepreneurship, and cultural development. The program equips the Mazahua community with tools to break free from historical barriers of marginalization on educational gaps, networking opportunities, and access to funding information that perpetuated economic, social, and political inequality between indigenous communities and non-indigenous communities.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered so far, and what was the biggest learning experience? The biggest challenge was understanding the demands, problems, and situations that make people feel self-conscious, as well as meeting their expectations of a project that, for them, is difficult to manage. I learned how important communication is for establishing suitable and pertinent logistics between the work team, the people who take the workshops, and the local and state authorities.

What are you most excited to bring back to the Mac community? Sharing, as the privilege of access to information, reconfigures business systems and economic models—and therefore the quality and standards of life of marginalized communities.

Anna Jensen ʼ25 and Felicia Winfrey ʼ25
Outdoors Unlocked: A Mac Student’s Guide to Accessible Adventure

Over J-Term, we created a zine centered around national parks and outdoor recreation in the US. We discussed resources and tips for Mac students, and explored the history of the parks we visited. Our goal was to provide practical and historical information through storytelling and a creative format to enable and empower students surrounding outdoor recreation.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered so far, and what was the biggest learning experience? The biggest challenge was that everything when you’re camping takes wayyy longer than you think. With the sun going down so early it’s been an adjustment. We learned a lot about how to camp in the winter and all the little practicalities of camping that we forget about.

What are you most excited to bring back to the Mac community? We have learned SO much throughout this process and are excited to articulate and share everything with other Mac students so that they can have similar experiences.

Mila Zhou ʼ26
ProPath

ProPath is a mentorship program that connects underserved high school and college students in China with experienced mentors and valuable resources, helping to bridge the gap between their education and meaningful career opportunities.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered so far, and what was the biggest learning experience? – That students’ needs often differ from expectations, and they may lack clarity about what they truly want. They might also show limited initiative in sharing their thoughts or seeking help when needed. The biggest lesson I learned was that engaging with a broader social environment through the project can provide valuable insights into understanding individuals more effectively.

What are you most excited to bring back to the Mac community? Connecting students with Mac students to offer advice and mentorship from a unique perspective.

Timotei Chas ʼ27
School for Change

School for Change is a community-driven initiative aimed at renovating the Gra Dali Public Primary School in the Doka village, Ivory Coast, to become a state-certified exam center and a hub for agroecology, improving both education access and food security for the village and nearby localities.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered so far? The language barrier and understanding the complex dynamics of chiefdom and decision making in Doka and trying to set goals to untangle them.

What has been your biggest learning experience thus far? – Definitely interviewing skills, preparing my questions in advance and learning how to conduct interviews smoothly to get information I need.

What are you most excited to bring back to the Mac community? Community can be the problem and the solution, especially in education.

Amanda Tu ʼ27
Starlight Messages: 星光信语

Starlight Messages: 星光信语 creates a bridge between children with autism at Qing Cong Quan in Shanghai and Chinese-learning students from Macalester’s Asian Studies Department. By exchanging heartfelt letters, this project highlights the beauty of unique perspectives and builds meaningful cross-cultural connections.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered so far, and what was the biggest learning experience? A challenge in this project was the fact that a single change in the plan can cascade into others, requiring you to adjust and reschedule the entire sequence since it’s a step-by-step procedure. The biggest learning experience was gaining insights into effective communication with children with autism and understanding their daily routines at the Intelligence Training Center.

What are you most excited to bring back to the Mac community? I’m excited to bring back the exchange project, connecting Chinese-learning students with children with autism.

Visit the Live It Fund page to see all the projects.