UPEI engineering students help make wish come true for O’Leary child
The UPEI Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering (FSDE) recently collaborated with the Make-a-Wish Foundation to help grant a wish for an Island child by assembling a wheelchair-accessible swing at his home in O’Leary, PEI.
Eight-year-old Alexander MacKenzie MacDonald is non-verbal, has severe cerebral palsy and is legally blind. When he was granted a wish from the Make-a-Wish Foundation earlier this year, his family chose a wheelchair-accessible swing because they know he enjoys swings whenever he has an opportunity to use them.
The special wheelchair-accessible swing was a kit that was purchased by the Foundation and shipped from the United States. In June of this year, the Foundation was looking for volunteers on PEI to assemble the kit, move it to the designated area in the family’s back yard, and secure it to a concrete pad laid by a contractor. When Wish coordinator Cathy Sutherland reached out to the FSDE with a request for help, faculty members and student groups from the FSDE—the Student Ambassador Team (SAT) and Student Success Associates (SSA)—agreed that it was something they could make happen. With that, FSDE Success Centre coordinator Tin Nguyen, FSDE technician Andrew Townsend, and the students went to the family’s home on three separate occasions to complete the project.
“It is a beautiful synergy of education, community service, and the engineering spirit, and seeing Alex’s smile on the swing made all the work truly worthwhile,” said Nguyen.
The engineering team did a preliminary site visit on September 13 to check the swing set for any damage and to survey the area for the swing and concrete pad. They made a second trip to the site on September 20 to assemble the swing and then a final one on October 23 to move the swing to the concrete pad and secure it.
Alex’s dad Kyle MacKenzie, stepmom Jocelyn Young, and younger sister Ellie MacKenzie were all on hand to see him enjoy his new swing for the first time. The family said they appreciate everyone’s contribution to giving Alex his wish to swing whenever he wants.
“Partnering with Make-A-Wish demonstrates the servant-leadership model of the Engineering Success Centre,” said Dr. Libby Osgood, assistant professor, UPEI Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, and advisor for the Centre. “The Centre seeks to build a student-centred, inclusive learning environment to enhance student learning, build community, and mentor leaders. Our student leaders gain experience and mentorship through service to their fellow engineering students, and in this case--to one very special young child.”
