MCP students and friends pose after a day of water delivery for the Red Cross in Flint, MI.Volunteer days have consistently been a priority for the MCP student group. Previous volunteer efforts have included participating in the Detroit Partnership Day and judging the Forsythe Science Fair. This year, students additionally organized a trip to aid the Red Cross in our neighboring city of Flint, Michigan. The ongoing water crisis in Flint has created a constant demand in the community for clean water in the form of bottled water. A group of MCP students and friends assisted the Red Cross by hand-delivering bottled water and related supplies to residents unable to pick up water from the main distribution areas. We worked together in teams to efficiently and effectively serve the needs of the community. At the conclusion of the day, students were able to relax by enjoying the renown Flint Farmers Market.
"It was a great experience on a personal level as volunteering always is.Hopefully we were able to make the lives of senior citizens affected by thisterrible situation a little easier by providing clean water for the week."Andi Cani, B.S.
MCP students celebrate winning the Munger Case Competition: (left to right) Justin Serio, Talha Anwar and Paloma Garcia. MCP students love to work together, in and out of the lab. We maintain a robust MCP trivia team that frequently competes at a local establishment, and we occasionally collaborate on academic competitions as well. Several graduate students, Paloma Garcia, Talha Anwar and Justin Serio, teamed up with Chemistry graduate student, Dan Polasky, this spring to participate in the Munger Case Competition- sponsored by the Munger Graduate Residences here at University of Michigan. The goal was to use trans-disciplinary teams to collaborate on a solution for how the State of Michigan can move forward from the Flint water crisis while also not crippling the state's economic future. Our team researched the topic for over a month and generated engineering, policy and social justice solutions that we submitted in the form of a slide deck. We won the competition- receiving a cash prize and the satisfaction of a job well-done.
MCP students relax around our campsite at Pinckney during our annual camping trip. MCP students value spending fun bonding time together, so every year students coordinate a camping trip during the summer. The 2015 trip upheld this beloved tradition and was a great success as everyone carpooled up to the Pinckney Recreational Area for a weekend. The students spent a day relaxing at a nearby beach reading and tossing a frisbee before setting up camp and cultivating the all-important campfire. The evening comprised of sharing stories of past trips and playing group games such as Mafia. Turtles were sighted and camp dogs were sated with burnt scraps. Buoyed by the perfect execution of the weekend, we are all excited for next year's camping trip.