As a junior, Elizabeth Malloy enrolled in “Social and Political Change in the Dominican Republic,” a Winter J-Term course in which she and her fellow volunteers worked on a sanitation project in a village five hours north of Santo Domingo.

Inspired by the experience, Elizabeth decided to enroll in the first class of URI’s Peace Corps Prep, and last summer she returned to the Dominican Republic to participate in a service project sponsored by Blue Missions, a Miami-based organization that brings students and volunteers to villages in need.

Over the course of nine days, Elizabeth and her team installed pipes, connected them to a water source in the mountains, and built a massive concrete holding tank in the village. But they had help. “The children in the village were as involved in the project as the volunteers and they helped every step of the way,” said Elizabeth. “Their curiosity and eagerness helped inspire us to keep working hard.”

On the final day of the project the water flowed freely through the pipes and into the homes of the villagers. “This was the first time most of the children saw clean, flowing water,” she said.

After graduation, Elizabeth hopes to complete a stint with the Peace Corps and to use her journalism degree and broadened worldview at National Public Radio or Public Broadcasting Service.

“I hope to work with and report on injustices at the national, global, or environmental level. I believe that getting involved as a global citizen is a pivotal part of being a good journalist. My service work has helped me gain critical understanding about issues on a global level, not just those right outside my front door.”