Alexandra Tateosian

Alexandra Tateosian, a mechanical engineering senior at Michigan Tech, left campus for Cartago, Costa Rica thinking she would be assisting with the construction planning of a center for disadvantaged youth as a volunteer for the non-profit organization UBELONG. Tateosian wanted to spend time abroad before beginning a full-time job at 3M. After tutoring many international friends in English while studying in Australia, she began considering living abroad to teach English or for other volunteering opportunities. Her experiences as an intern for two international companies, Bemis Company and 3M, also sparked her interest in working abroad at some point in her career.

The day she arrived in Cartago she learned that instead she would be working at a care center for the elderly. “The first step was to identify areas of need,” she says. “We decided to focus on the Taller de Carpintería (the woodshop).” One portion of her volunteer work now involves assisting in safety recommendations for the tools and equipment. Another involves designing specific woodworking projects to get more of the seniors involved. One such project involves building and painting puzzles that can be used in other areas of the center as mind exercises. “Our goal is to train some of the seniors to be leaders for future projects after I leave.” Tatosian works closely with the staff to coordinate all the details. “It is certainly an amplified lesson in the importance of communication due to the language barriers,” she says.

“Exposing myself to different places and cultures has become an important part of my life. I am learning about human nature and how people interact similarly and differently and reasons for these differences,“ adds Tateosian.

Cartago is about a one-hour bus ride for San José, the capital city of Costa Rica. There are many restaurants, museums, and other sites to see in the city. Tateosian has been to the top of Volcán Poás and plans to go to Volcá Irazú. She eats dinner each night with her host family and has also gone rock climbing and mountain biking nearby. On a trip to nearby Nicaragua to explore Ometepe Island, she happened to meet a fellow Tech student who is currently in the Peace Corps Master’s International Program.

Tatosian’s most memorable experience while living, working and studying abroad? “At the elderly care center we ran an activity with the seniors where they reflected on what amor (love) meant to them. Afterwards, an elderly woman approached me and said ‘este es amor’ (this is love) and gave me a big hug.”

From Michigan Tech Engineering’s “Undergraduate Education 2015”