A Review of Missouri S&T Students' Studies of Drinking Water Systems in Rural Guatemala

The rural highlands of Guatemala is a popular destination for American tourists who visit the area for both recreation and for the opportunity to participate in social works programs. One of the challenges associated with studying in the region is the need to maintain a fraternalistic mind-set as opposed to the sometimes more prevalent paternalistic approach. Safe drinking water is in relatively short supply in the highlands, and students and faculty from the Missouri University of Science and Technology have been conducting drinking water studies in the area for more than a decade. The majority of the students have been engineering students, and while women typically make up less than 25 percent of engineering enrollment, the majority of the S&T publications about Guatemala water have been authored by female students.