Dear Editor:

I am sorry to hear that David Wippman is leaving, especially after our experiences this January. We are the parents of a student who just returned from Kenya with a small group of students from Cornell International Health. David was the key person at Cornell who worked with all of us.

I can only say thank you to him for the outstanding job he did! He spent endless hours, and I know one sleepless night along with the parents, to keep in touch with the students and pass information on to the parents. You could tell how much he really cared. Thank you so much, David, and thank you Cornell for making sure my daughter and all of the students got out of Kenya safely and back to the States.

I would also like to say how proud I am of those eight students and how they handled and conducted themselves in a crisis situation. During their time preparing for this trip, they made plans should a crisis situation arise but never thought they would need it. The students worked together for almost a year on an HIV and nutrition education project to be used near Bungoma, Kenya, over winter break. This was a continuation of a project from the previous year. The students did get in two sessions before Christmas and the presidential election. That work was well received, and they were excited to continue after Christmas and the election break, but that never happened.

No one could have foreseen how violent it would get. I know the students all have concerns for the people and the situation in Kenya at this time. I can only imagine how disappointing it is for them not to have completed their project. However, I know the learning, education and the experiences that they have had in developing this project and going to Kenya will last a lifetime. Even though they were unable to complete what they set out to do, they had many real life experiences that, I have no doubt, they will be able to use as they travel down life's highway.

Again, thank you so much, David. Cornell is losing a good man, and I hope Minnesota realizes what they are getting. Thank you, also, Cornell.

Sincerely,

Mary Rutten and David Schinbeckler
parents of Hannah Schinbeckler '10