by Jenna Bloom ’21

Jennifer Forrest is a Technology and Project Lead the Way teacher at Sherwood. Before that, she went to the University of Maryland and majored in civil engineering. Now, it is time for Forrest to pursue her passion and take a step towards the next phase in her life.

Forrest recently announced to students that she is not returning to Sherwood next year, and will be travelling to Cape Town, South Africa with her husband in August. They will participate in various Civil Engineering projects throughout the area, and partner with the organization “Engineering Ministries International”, a faith-based organization that helps those in need around the world.

Specifically for this trip to South Africa, participants “will partner with ministries addressing basic needs as shelter, care and education while also discipling and empowering the next generation of African design professionals.” They will visit orphanages, community centers, and churches to improve the lives of those in the Cape Town area.

Cape Town also has a large history of apartheid, which creates a lot of present-day needs for food, shelter, education, and more, which will all be addressed by Forrest’s team in August when they begin their work.

Forrest’s husband will be working as a construction manager, while she will be a civil engineer and educator, working with some of the engineering interns on construction and design projects.

They are currently looking for a place to live in the area, because in January 2020 they will make their move to Cape Town official, and stay to work there with the team.

“This is a season of our life, and we really feel we’ve been wanting to do this kind of thing for a while,” Forrest explained, “and we want to be able to use our skills to be a blessing to other people.”