BuildOn

Hello dear readers! I’m back. This is big news because it means I survived all of my midterms! I can’t say that I feel great about how I did on all of them, but there’s not much I can do about that now. Right now, I am more concerned with the course registration for next semester. I signed up for Exploration and Discovery already, which is the second half of the yearlong first-year seminar. I am in the section called The Ancient City, which I am really excited for because I love ancient history. I am also thinking of taking a class called Ancient Greece for the same reason. That one is in the History department. Then I still have two or three more classes to pick. I am still not really sure what I am going to major in, so I am glad I still have room to explore and take classes in different departments. The Lewis and Clark schedule is great for those of us who like to experiment!
                I had a fairly uneventful weekend except for Saturday morning, which was amazing because I got to get off campus for a little while and talk to some people who don’t go to Lewis and Clark for a change. My friend Mayadah and I went to the Lake Oswego Library for a club I am in called BuildOn and got to talk to the community members there about our work. BuildOn is an international organization that builds schools in developing nations in order to help impoverished communities gain literacy and basic health education. We ensure that equal amounts of boys and girls attend these schools and that the community has a huge part in building the school and keeping it running. It is a cause that I am extremely passionate about. BuildOn advocates everything I value – gender equality, education, and independence. This year, we are raising money to build a school in Nepal. Once we raise the money, we will fly to the town in Nepal over the summer and spend two weeks there living with host families and helping lay the foundation and make bricks for the schoolhouse. I am so excited! Lewis and Clark is just bursting with globally-minded opportunities like this, and I wish I had time to participate in them all. So on Saturday, I had tons of fun telling people about this cause and ended up earning some donations for the school too.
                If you want to know more about BuildOn, click on this link and read the write-up on my fundraising page! There's a neat video there about what we do. As always, you can contact me at jessicakostka@lclark.edu if you want to ask me any questions about Lewis and Clark.
                Have a good week,

                Jess