James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2009 - Index

BRIGHTLIGHTS
Fenzel and Wright’s water drip irrigation
system was much different and foreign to
the diesel pump the Namawanga village
had been using. The alums worked extensively
with two nonprofit organizations to
complete their system. “Working with Possibilities
Africa and Least of These International
was incredible,” says Wright.
Fenzel and Wright returned to campus
in October 2008 to talk to a current ISAT
honors thesis group working on a system
to potentially be implemented in the
Namawanga community. The alums fielded
questions, discussed technical aspects of
their trip and the irrigation system they
installed, and shared pictures and personal
experiences of the trip. “Having the opportunity
to work with nonprofits like LOTI
and to demonstrate a new concept to an
underdeveloped area was something that we
had actually discussed during our first years
at JMU,” says Fenzel. “It’s an experience I
wish everyone could have.”
Both Fenzel and Wright want to remain
committed to this project and those affected
by it. Wright says, “It was mind-boggling
how our host family, destitute by our standards,
was enthusiastically willing to give us
so much. They found such joy in the simplest
things — family, newly formed relationships
with us and the gift of rising each
day. Looking into the faces of sincere happiness
and gratitude, you could never feel like
you’re doing enough to help such deserving
people. We know that our short stay in
Kenya has made a lasting impression on us,
and we hope that our endeavors there have
done the same for the Namawangans.”
Wright now lives in Santa Monica, Calif.,
and is the West Coast field service engineer for
the medical device startup company, Omni-
Guide, which is based in Cambridge, Mass.
Fenzel is a process engineer for PHOENIX
Process Equipment Co. in Louisville, Ky. He
assists in laboratory testing, process evaluations
and equipment R&D for the company,
which specializes in liquid/solid separation
and residual dewatering technologies. M
‘Looking into the faces
of sincere happiness
and gratitude, you could
never feel like you’re
doing enough to help
such deserving people.’
— Colin Wright (’07)
Right: Colin Wright
(’07) and Matt Fenzel
(’07) present their
honors thesis “Sustainable
Water Extraction
and Distribution
System for Agricultural
Applications
in the Namawanga
Community of Kenya.”
Below: The alumni duo
brought their honors
thesis to life in the
Namawanga village.
Their water drip irrigation
system was much
different than the
diesel pump that the
village residents had
been using.
Colin Wright (’07) and Matt Fenzel (’07) share some time with students in the Namawanga
community in Kenya, where the alums implemented a water irrigation system.
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