Sandra Vimbiso and Deborah Kadangs, Bluffton University students from Africa, are returning to their home countries this summer to explore connections between vocation and faith with $1,500 Summer Discovery Grants awarded through the university.

Vimbiso, from Zimbabwe, just completed her sophomore year at Bluffton, where she is a biology and pre-medicine major. She is traveling to Gweru, Zimbabwe, to be a doctor's aide at Gweru Province Hospital. She chose that hospital due both to its location in a city that lacks development and infrastructure, and to its mission to provide free health care to the less fortunate.

Kadangs, a sophomore from Nigeria who is majoring in fashion and interiors, retail merchandising and design, will work for four weeks with Kreative Kapintas, a Nigerian architectural and interior design company. In addition to gaining experience in applying principles and considerations of design, "I will get the opportunity to visit design construction sites and get acquainted with production processes, as well as have hands-on practice with design software," Kadangs, a business minor, wrote in her application.

This is the eighth year that Summer Discovery Grants have been available to students interested in designing an experience that will allow them to creatively explore connections between their faith journeys and vocational discernment.

Funding is through the Karl Schultz Discovery Funds, an endowment established through the gift of Bluffton alumnus Karl Schultz.