During her three months with the Border Green Energy Team (BGET), Christina worked with the permanent engineer staff to solve maintenance issues on previous microhydro and photovoltaic (PV) installations; teamed up with other local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to troubleshoot their PV systems; developed a technical, community-focused sustainability plan for a village clean water delivery system; co-taught training sessions on microhydro and PV systems to engineering students and medical clinicians in refugee camps; and helped design and construct a 12 kW microhydro project in a Karen village located a two and a half hours' drive from BGET's headquarters. Her experiences in the field developed team work and on-the-spot decision making skills, as well as broadening her vocabulary in two new languages - Thai and Karen.

Click here to read Christina's blog about her birthday experiences in Thailand's Karen country.

"Biggest lesson: there is no learning more worthwhile than experience and on-the-job-training. My favorite parts of the Fellowship were the times I went out in the field to de-bug some system, or on the microhydro construction project at Ta Poh Pu, when something went wrong and I just had to gather all my academic training, think logically and clearly, and march through a mental list of solutions until we found one that worked. Working in the field also taught me the importance of interpersonal relationships on teams, and how everyone needs to put personal ego behind and work together to accomplish what the project needs (not what the individual needs)."

"Christina worked hard to be part of the team. Our local staff was motivated by her effort and abilities to do work with them despite the different languages."