Enactus is a worldwide organization that works to foster the next generation of leaders and innovators by providing students with the resources to create projects that will allow them to better their communities. With thousands of branches located around the world, the chapter here at La Sierra University is a small part of a larger collective that has worked to improve hundreds of thousands of lives! In the midst of a summer filled with social deprivation, the current president of the La Sierra University chapter of Enactus, Megan Eisele, reached out to me to see if I would be interested in joining Enactus. I jumped at the opportunity to get out of the house and work on a project that would help the community that I was looking forward to coming back to.
The primary project that I have been working on is called Freight to Table. This project revolves around a freight container provided by Freight Farms that has been turned into a fully functioning hydroponics farm. Hydroponics utilize a controlled environment to grow plants without the use of soil. Our farm, in particular, takes advantage of vertical gardening which has multiple benefits including being easier to harvest, a higher density of crops in a smaller area, and an increase in water usage efficiency. As of right now, the main crop that we harvest in our freight is different types of lettuce. Each week, we rotate between different types of lettuce since each species varies in its optimal growing conditions. The two main events that take place in the freight are the days when we harvest and the days when we transplant the seedlings. Although harvesting is much quicker and takes fewer volunteers, an extra step is necessary to package the produce. Although the transplanting portion of the freight is a bit more tedious and painstaking, it is very rewarding to see all of the hard work pay off once it is time for harvesting!
This summer, Enactus was also given the opportunity to take part in the STEM Bridge project. This project focuses on incoming first-year students who are looking to begin their STEM careers at La Sierra. During the two-week session, students were able to gain hands-on experience as well as some insight into the various STEM programs offered on campus. Using the freight, they were able to explore the various fields of STEM and how they play a role in ensuring that the farm is functioning properly. This includes the biology behind the germination of the seeds, the technology that ensures the light and watering cycles are perfectly timed, the engineering design of the watering system and vertical panels that allow us to plant more crops in a smaller area, and the math that is needed to calculate the concentration of nutrients necessary to keep our plants growing! This gives professors and students who are currently STEM majors the opportunity to cultivate meaningful connections that help to solidify career paths for incoming first-years.
In these last few months, I have enjoyed my time spent with Enactus. It is a program filled with like-minded people who are all looking to create real change in their communities. Aside from allowing me to get involved both around campus and in our La Sierra community, it has also allowed me to make new friends and meet new people who are involved in other programs around campus. Since most students tend to spend the majority of their time with students who have similar majors, Enactus is a kind of melting pot that allows for connections that otherwise would not have been made. Although I have focused mainly on Freight to Table, there are many more ways to get involved with Enactus. Another program that we are working on is called eLibrary which focuses on delivering classroom study materials via USB drives to underprivileged communities who may not have all of the resources necessary to make the transition to online learning. Enactus provides many different ways to get involved such as the different projects mentioned above as well as logistical teams that provide the necessary support for our branch to succeed. If you are interested in joining Enactus, feel free to reach out by emailing enactus@lasierra.edu or sending a message to @lasierraenactus on Instagram! Hope to see you there!
–– Brandon Ching (Biomedical Science, Class of 2023)