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Engineering Community Awareness
High School Liaison Officer, ECE
Sorting through used clothing and toys is not a traditional job for Engineering students, but the members of the ESEG Group – Electrochemistry and Surface Engineering Group in the Department of Materials Science, did just that in September, as part of oUTreach 2008.
Graduate students Bertha Yang, Mike Kostowskyj, Marika Kutnahorsky, Kathryn Klement, Sunjin Park and Stephen Choi, along with MSE Professor Steven Thorpe spent a day working at “Double Take” on Gerrard Street in Cabbagetown.
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MSE grad students Kathryn Klement and Mike Kostowskyj sorting clothes at Double Take.Professor Thorpe’s group had been discussing the importance of “giving back to the community” for some time and were happy to get involved in U of T’s outreach initiative.
“I had never ever done a volunteer activity like this in my life; it was great,” remarked Kostowskyj.
The research group enjoyed their day at Double Take so much that they plan to do more community work in the future. Their job at Double Take was to assist in the store operations by waxing racks, cleaning shelving and resorting clothes in the store. They also sorted through gently used clothing and toys, and learned how to inspect clothing, identify stains to be removed in washing, others to discard, etc.
The contact person at the store was Kathy Webster, who provided the group with an overview of YSM and the operations of Double Take. The students obtained a good sense of how instrumental the store was in providing employment opportunities, training and essentials to the community.