Summer 2008
Participants
Teaching Assistants
JMU
My name is Michael Thompson. I am twenty-one years old and I am from the United States. I graduated this May (2008) from James Madison University, where I have majored in Integrated Science and Technology with a concentration in energy. I am going on this trip as a graduate assistant in order to help with the class as well as to learn about Costa Rican culture and history. This past summer I spent 6 weeks traveling about Europe, I was mostly in Saarbrucken, Germany studying solar thermal hot water heating systems and other renewable technologies. I have a love for traveling and I have traveled to many countries on personal vacation but I have never been to Costa Rica. I enjoy outdoor activities such as running, biking, swimming and hiking. I also have a love for athletics, cars and music. I do not know what I am doing now that I have graduated but I am taking opportunities as they come to me. I am looking forward to traveling to Costa Rica because I have only heard good things and I cannot wait to meet the rest of you.
Costa Rica
My name is Johnn Solano. I am 26 years old and have lived in Costa Rica for all of my life. I am 5 feet 8 inches tall and weigh 200 pounds. Like the rest of the Students waiting for this program and your visit, I am studying Mechanical Engineering. I enjoy listening to all different kinds of music and like outdoor activities of all sorts. Some of my favorites are tennis, bicycling, Football, but I am open to any others as well. I consider myself a musician (I play the guitar and Bass Guitar). I also enjoy meeting lots of new people.
JMU Students
Krista Croxton
My name is Krista Croxton and I am a sophomore at JMU. I was born in Chesapeake, Virginia, just 30 minutes from VA Beach. I’m definitely a beach girl, but have sensitive ears when it comes to water. I am 19 years old and am stoked to study abroad in Costa Rica. I have never been off the east coast and can’t wait for the culture shock to set in. I’m easy going and like to have a lot of fun. In my spare time I like to play volleyball and soccer, and I like to take photographs. Like most of the other students, I am also an ISAT major; however, I have not decided what I want to sector in. This summer, I hope to gain a better sense of what I would like to pursue in the future.
Thomas Fadoul
My name is Tommy Fadoul and I am a senior at JMU. I live in McLean, Virginia which is right outside of Washington D.C. I have a younger sister, Adrienne and a younger brother, Peter. My father is Lebanese, and I have gone to a Melkite Catholic Arabic church my whole life. I am an Integrated Science and Technology major, with a co-concentration in engineering manufacturing and business. I am working with Dr. Morgan Benton on my senior thesis which aims to develop online tools that provide new ways of learning and help our education system adapt. I have worked for Blackboard, Inc. as an intern for the past two years. Now I work year round from school for their marketing division in web operations. Much of my work consists of optimizing Blackboard’s international corporate website, which includes web editing, building new pages, and reporting on traffic and other web metrics. I am currently an active member and former president of Pi Kappa Phi here at James Madison University. My interests include many outdoor activities. I especially enjoy waterskiing, snowboarding, and running. I look forward to learning about our environment and the fundamentals of energy in Costa Rica. I am very excited and appreciative to be a part of such a unique program.
Josh Kelaher
I was born and grew up in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, then moved to Fairfax, Virginia for sixth grade. Living just outside of Washington DC is a great experience, and going to school in Northern Virginia was equally as enriching. I graduated from Robinson High School with an IB Diploma, and decided to come to JMU. My hobbies are snowboarding, surfing, jiu-jitsu, tae-kwon-do, playing guitar, and reading. Right now, I am so excited to be studying alternative energy in Costa Rica!
Michelle Madey
My name is Michelle Madey and I am a sophomore ISAT major at James Madison University. I am twenty years old and from Virginia Beach, Virginia. But I have also lived in Ohio and Georgia, so I am used to all different types of weather. I love being outdoors and experiencing new things. I have never been to Costa Rica before and I am very excited to learn about the culture of the country and make some new friends! At JMU I am very involved in doing community service. I am in Alpha Phi Omega, which is a community service fraternity on campus, and I love helping out with Special Olympic Swimming. I am very social and absolutely love being around people. I am curious to see how quickly I will be able to learn Spanish because I am certainly not fluent, but I am sure you guys will help me. I can’t wait to meet you all and I know we are going to have a lot of fun together this summer!
Matthew Murgia
My name is Matthew Murgia and I am 19 years old. I am a freshman ISAT major and I love the program. I was born and raised in northern Virginia and when I am not at school I live with my mother Lynn and my little brother Mark. I love traveling and meeting new people so Costa Rica with a new team sounds absolutely amazing. I love the outdoors and all different kinds of sports. In high school I played soccer and ice hockey. I am looking to get a lot out of this trip including the education and having the chance to live in the Costa Rican culture. I have an interest in energy and the way our world powers itself so I am excited to get a firsthand experience with many types of energy sources.
Emily Robinson
My name is Emily Robinson, and I am a freshman in the ISAT program. I am 18 years old, and I’m from Rhode Island. I grew up in a very active household, so I love to do almost any outdoor activity. My favorite activity is skiing, but I also really like hiking and camping. Although a lot of my time is taken up by studying right now, in my free time I like listening to music (I’m open to pretty much anything), reading, going to the beach, gymnastics (I’ve been competing since I was 8), and spending time with my friends and family. I really enjoy meeting new people, and am very excited for my experience in Costa Rica.
Mallory Shields
Hello, my name is Mallory Shields. I am currently a sophomore at James Madison University studying biology. I have one brother named Jamie, who is a senior in high school and two cats. I’m in the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority here, and I love it! I have never been to anywhere like Costa Rica, and I am so excited. I can’t wait to meet everyone and learn all about their culture and their country!
UCR Students
Lee Marvin Rodriguez Rojas
Name: Li Marvin Rodríguez Rojas. Born on05 may 1989. Born Place: San Isidro, Pérez Zeledón, San José, Costa Rica. Address: Sabanilla, Montes de Oca, San José, Costa Rica. Age: 18 years old. Mail-address: leemar89@hotmail.com. Actually I’m student of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering in the UCR. English level: intermediate. Aspirations: I want study Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; I want to be a specialist in aerospace propulsion and engines that not only use an petroleum derivative like energy source, that use this materials and others alternative energy sources.
Course interest: This course is very useful to know about topics that may be futures work areas, because actually there is a grate challenge of find news energy sources that substitute the crude oil, to them develop news machines, more efficiently and better to the environment, so we had to begin the learning about this to them have a better development in our universities and jobs. Also this is a grate opportunity to practice the English with persons that have it like native language and improve my knowledge about it.
About me: This is my second year in the university, I study Mechanical and Electrical engineering because since I’m in the secondary I like so much the mats and physics applications, so I participate in the Iberoamerican Physics’ Olympic in Portugal two year ago, and I obtained a Honorific Mention in this competition. In my free time I like to talk whit my friends every day, play basketball and pool, I listen music a lot, bands like U2, Aerosmith, Coldplay. Duran Duran, and Bon Jovi. I always investigate about diferent physics topics and new engines to the alternative car development.
Catalina Fonseca
My name is Catalina Fonseca, I’m 18 years old and I am from Costa Rica. I live in Belén, Heredia. I just started my Mechanical Engineering studies here at the University of Costa Rica this March, and I can say everything has been great so far. I wrote below some of my favorite stuff so you can get to know me better.
Hobbies: I love singing, dancing and acting, but I would say singing is my biggest passion since I started when I was 16.
Favorite food: Japanese (sushi mostly) and seafood.
Favorite sport: not much of a sports fan.
Favorite music genre: I like all types of music, from Guns N’ Roses to Mariah Carey.
On my spare time: I love to sing, be logged to Facebook and MSN, hang out with friends and listen to music.
Favorite T.V shows: Friends and American Idol.
Why I want to participate: I find the program as one of those opportunities that you can’t reject; it’s a whole new thing and a challenge for me as a person. Also, I think it can help me achieve a more complete academic formation in my area, which, nowadays, is becoming more and more important in this competitive society we’re living in.
What I expect from the program: I expect not only a month of intense studying, but an opportunity to learn something different, to explore and get to know better the country I live in, and to have some fun and make new friends!
Randall Soto Vindas
My name is Randall Soto Vindas. I was born on January 26th, 1990 in Westlake, California and have lived in Costa Rica since I was a toddler.
During my school years, I figured out that my favorite subjects were Science and Math. Since my early childhood I spent most of my free time watching TV programs from Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. I think this helped me realize that I was inclined to everything related to the way things work and their effects on our everyday activities.
While in High School, I participated in the Science fairs held every year, most of my work was performed in relation to planning, organization and developing of the participating projects.
One of my strong points are: capacity to plan, team work, a very strong ability to communicate with others and skills to facilitate human relations between all collaborators.
For the last five years I have been studying music, being the saxophone my favorite instrument, which I play fairly well.
Priscilla Rodríguez
My name is Priscilla Rodríguez. I’m 17 years old, I live in San Carlos, Costa Rica and I’m going to study mechanical engineering at the Universidad de Costa Rica. I like to meet new people; I love outdoor activities such as jogging and horseback riding. I also like to go out with my friends and have a nice time doing different activities.
Alexander Rivas
Hello! Well what can I say about me…. I’m a very sociable person, everyway I go I make a lot of friends. I like to try new things and meeting people from other countries, my mind in open wide so I like to hear other people’s opinions. For me there’s nothing more important in life than family and friends so I would do anything for them.I love going to the beach and hanging with my friends when there’s nothing else to do.
My favourite things in life are music, cars, and food!! I like almost any kind of music except heavy metal and I’m learning to play drums but I would like to play as many instruments as I can. Mexican and Italian foods are my favourite ones, but there’s nothing better than a ¨gallo pinto¨ in the morning with a hot cup of Costa Rican coffee. My dream is to become a designer for Lamborghini, Porsche or Ferrari, I know that it sounds impossible but I like to set my goals high. I decide to study mechanical engineering because im a very creative person and I like to invent things. I would like to be a part of this program because I know that I would get to know a lot of people and practice my ingles at the same time, besides it would be a great learning opportunity and it would help in my career. Well that’s everything for now, I hope to see you later and my e-mail is al_15CR@hotmail.com, it would be great if you write something about your university, bye.
Jose Luis Miguel
Hi! My name is Luis Miguel. I’m 19 years old and currently I live in San Pedro, San José.
I have one younger sister and no brothers. I am currently a first year student of Mechanical Engineer in the University of Costa Rica. I am a very friendly person, and like it a lot being outdoors, going on trips and learning about different things. I like to do physical activities such as playing basketball, swimming; playing volleyball (even though I’m not very good at it) and others. I also enjoy very much listening to music. I have always had a lot of interest in learning how things work, ever since I was a child I like to dismantle objects such as can openers or so, just to know what is inside.
I am also very interested in learning from and interacting with people from other places and cultures. I think that when people have this kind of experiences they learn to think in a more globalized way. I myself was in a student exchange program in Germany last year. I find it really useful to learn other languages and this opportunity will help me to improve my fluency in English.
From this course I expect to learn about energy, and how it can be used to solve problems, and also to have a lot of new experiences.
