The holiday season is in full swing, and with it comes an overwhelming sense of civic duty.

Canned food drives begin, Santas are seen ringing bells for Salvation Army donations and Coats for Kids promises to keep every child warm this winter.

But how much of a long-lasting impact do these kinds of “hand outâ€Â services have?

Electrical engineering student Tim Schellenberg kept that in mind while establishing an Engineers Without Borders (EWB) student chapter here on campus early this semester.

Schellenberg said the idea for a College of Engineering service-oriented organization came to him while working and studying abroad.

“I was working in Cambodia and realized that in the future, I wanted to come back and use what I have learned to better these people’s lives,â€Â Schellenberg said.

After returning to the states, Schellenberg discussed possible ideas with a few colleagues.

He then approached College of Engineering Dean Michael Jenkins and asked if he had any suggestions. Jenkins told him about Engineers Without Borders.

“I had worked with EWB in the past and knew this organization was exactly what Tim was looking for,â€Â Jenkins said.

Engineers Without Borders is a national organization that helps build homes and enhance technology in Third World countries.

Schellenberg was excited about the idea, and begin working on creating a student chapter for Fresno State.

After getting a group together and being elected president of the Engineers Without Borders student chapter, Schellenberg decided he didn̢۪t want his chapter to be simply a carbon copy of the national organization.

“I knew I wanted to do something different,â€Â Schellenberg said. “I wanted to do something in Cambodia, and wanted it to have a long-lasting impact and not just be some hand-out service.â€Â

As a group, Schellenberg and the new Engineers Without Borders student chapter decided to work on collecting funds for a trip to Cambodia at the beginning of next year.

But instead of building homes and enhancing technology, the Fresno State group decided to collaborate with Cambodia̢۪s College of Engineering and teach the students and professors advanced engineering skills.

Jenkins loved this idea, and thinks this is much better than what many other organizations do in Third World countries.

“Everyone else just goes over to other places and does everything for them; nobody actually teaches them how to do it for themselves, and therefore actually make a change,â€Â Jenkins said.

As the Engineers Without Borders president, Schellenberg hopes to establish a relationship with Cambodia̢۪s university in order to make several more trips to further develop their engineering program.

Although all spots are filled for the Cambodia trip next year, he encourages anyone and everyone to join the Engineers Without Borders student chapter, especially if they have any ideas or suggestions for future projects.

Also, he said Engineers Without Borders is not limited to just engineering majors.

In the future, Schellenberg hopes to expand the student chapter so they can do more projects, eventually leading to something locally.

He said his goal mainly is to get students aware of the fact that Engineers Without Borders is here on campus and to get them thinking about how they, too, can help others.

“It’s time for students to be more aware of their social responsibility in a global sense,â€Â Schellenberg said. “They need to think about how they can take what they learn and use it to better the world.â€Â