Recent Integrative Arts graduate reflects on trip to Kenya

As Anthony Jefferson (’22 B.A. Integrative Arts) was preparing for his final semester at Penn State, a random web search resulted in a transformational, three-week trip to Kisumu, Kenya, thanks to the University’s Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship Program (HESE).

HESE is an integrated learning, research and entrepreneurship program that brings together Penn State students and faculty in the rigorous research, design, field-testing and launch of technology-based ventures in low- and middle-income countries.

Jefferson enrolled in the program after a web search focused on post-graduation options led him to HESE, and even though joining the program was not entirely intentional, he said he wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

“I was lucky enough to be searching and looked up the right couple of words,” Jefferson said.

It was definitely amazing.” -Anthony Jefferson

Through a series of five courses and close co-development with stakeholders, HESE teams systematically advance ventures over multiple years with aspirations for large-scale commercialization and dissemination. Alongside the social enterprises, students work on original, publishable research that strengthens ventures by ensuring they use an evidence-based and data-driven approach.

The spring 2022 HESE cohort worked on a self-reporting news app built to offer Kenyans a way to verify if information is true or not. Ahead of the trip, Jefferson and his colleagues conducted research and networked with people in Kenya to develop projects that would benefit the community.

“A lot of the information there is either spread through word-of-mouth or through the news, and a lot of times the news is weeks late,” Jefferson said. “By the time the information is on the news, it’s not relevant anymore, and sometimes when news is word-of-mouth, it’s not true.”

While in Kenya in the spring, much of the app development research revolved around talking to locals, business owners and government officials. After the first two weeks, Jefferson said the team figured out what features they needed to change or add to the app and how they wanted to update the user interface.

“We got as much done in America as we could, so once we got to Kenya, we got a better understanding of the problems and if our solutions would help the community,” Jefferson said. “Overall, we basically just spoke to people, and after we spoke with them, we used that information to make changes to our business plan.”

Despite the trip to Kenya being for research purposes, Jefferson said he was still able to enjoy and appreciate the “transformational” experience, from learning the native language of Swahili to trying different foods.

“The food was amazing,” Jefferson said. “The fruit there was also delicious. I never had pineapple so sweet. I was trying as much stuff as I could.”

In Jefferson’s eyes, one of the best parts of the trip was simply having conversations with the people of Kenya. Those conversations resonated with Jefferson and pushed him to stay connected with some of the people he met on the trip.

“The people there were just so friendly, and they value relationships a whole lot,” Jefferson said. “The people were my favorite part of the experience.”