Bachelor of Science alumni Carlee Poleschuk and Katie Sparrow will walk the stage this June at Convocation but before that, they are spending the month of May in Ecuador with a group called Help, Learn and Discover.

The Vancouver-based volunteer organization offers educational programs in Ecuador that combine opportunities to help the less fortunate, learning experiences in pre-med and the opportunity to discover the ecosystems of South America.

Poleschuk and Sparrow are currently helping the less fortunate by building homes out of shipping containers. Due to four devastating earthquakes in the past month—two of which the women were there for—there is a huge demand for shelter in the region.

Next week they start a 13-hour medical rotation in a hospital in Quito, the capital city, to learn first-hand about the medical field.

The trip concludes in the Galápagos Islands where they will take part in a biological field study before heading home at the end of the month to get ready for Convocation.

Radio NL’s Jim Harrison interviews Carlee Poleschuk (May 26, 2016)