· What is the most significant event, experience, or challenge you overcame this year and what did you learn from that experience? How is this experience influential in terms of how you see yourself today?
At the end of the 2014-2015 academic year I joined eight of my fellow classmates and took an education study tour (that I made into an honors experience) to Bordeaux, France for two weeks. In Bordeaux we learned about French culture and the European Union through local museums, local cuisine, and befriending local students at the University of Bordeaux. During this experience what stood out to me were not the differences between the University of Bordeaux students and myself, but rather the lack of differences. We all not only enjoyed similar movies, music, and sports, but also shared similar passions for environmental protection and the impacts that global politics have on our own perspective countries. As I continue my journey into adulthood I will remember my trip to Bordeaux and recall that while our world may be big and complex, relationships to the people living in it can be created through conversations and gestures of respect.
· How have you used your gifts and talents to give back to the community and society?
In the spring of 2015 I heard of an honors seminar, Climate Change, think globally act locally, and as an active environmentalist this course called out to me and I knew I would have to take it. During the first part of the course the class learned the facts of climate change through respected sources and then continued into a series of talks given to the class from prominent Cincinnatians. In the latter half of the course we were given the challenge to find a local nonprofit that was mitigating climate change. My small group of four decided to represent Granny’s Garden School and we would present this organization to a panel of judges and win the prize of $1,000 for them. This class allowed me to use my love for the environment in a way that would cause direct change and give back to my local community.
Another way I used my talents was through my participation in Engineers Without Borders. I used my communication skills to establish connections through Dr. Raj Mehta, Mr. Master Baipidi, and eventually to the Botswana International University of Science and Technology where the beginning stages of a new project would take place. These connections allowed for a community of need to be found in Palapye, Botswana. I will continue to use skills, of all different varieties, in Engineers Without Borders as I was appointed the fundraising chair, where my responsibility is to raise all the money needed for our current projects.
· What is at least one goal that you have set for yourself for the upcoming year?
One goal for the 2015-2016 year is to not shy away from challenges and responsibilities. There will be times where I will be stressed, sleep deprived, and ready to give up, but I hope that I will do that needs to be done. I need to remember that while I may want to stop working, the responsibilities I acquire are bigger than me and the challenges I face are small compared to the challenges of the people without access to clean water or power.
· What piece of advice would you like to give yourself as you prepare for the upcoming year, be that academically, personally, or both?
I advise myself to truly learn from the experiences I acquired from my freshman year at the University of Cincinnati. I hope that rather than thinking of them as unique journeys I took, I will view them as tools that can be used to complete challenges and use them to create connections.
At the end of the 2014-2015 academic year I joined eight of my fellow classmates and took an education study tour (that I made into an honors experience) to Bordeaux, France for two weeks. In Bordeaux we learned about French culture and the European Union through local museums, local cuisine, and befriending local students at the University of Bordeaux. During this experience what stood out to me were not the differences between the University of Bordeaux students and myself, but rather the lack of differences. We all not only enjoyed similar movies, music, and sports, but also shared similar passions for environmental protection and the impacts that global politics have on our own perspective countries. As I continue my journey into adulthood I will remember my trip to Bordeaux and recall that while our world may be big and complex, relationships to the people living in it can be created through conversations and gestures of respect.
· How have you used your gifts and talents to give back to the community and society?
In the spring of 2015 I heard of an honors seminar, Climate Change, think globally act locally, and as an active environmentalist this course called out to me and I knew I would have to take it. During the first part of the course the class learned the facts of climate change through respected sources and then continued into a series of talks given to the class from prominent Cincinnatians. In the latter half of the course we were given the challenge to find a local nonprofit that was mitigating climate change. My small group of four decided to represent Granny’s Garden School and we would present this organization to a panel of judges and win the prize of $1,000 for them. This class allowed me to use my love for the environment in a way that would cause direct change and give back to my local community.
Another way I used my talents was through my participation in Engineers Without Borders. I used my communication skills to establish connections through Dr. Raj Mehta, Mr. Master Baipidi, and eventually to the Botswana International University of Science and Technology where the beginning stages of a new project would take place. These connections allowed for a community of need to be found in Palapye, Botswana. I will continue to use skills, of all different varieties, in Engineers Without Borders as I was appointed the fundraising chair, where my responsibility is to raise all the money needed for our current projects.
· What is at least one goal that you have set for yourself for the upcoming year?
One goal for the 2015-2016 year is to not shy away from challenges and responsibilities. There will be times where I will be stressed, sleep deprived, and ready to give up, but I hope that I will do that needs to be done. I need to remember that while I may want to stop working, the responsibilities I acquire are bigger than me and the challenges I face are small compared to the challenges of the people without access to clean water or power.
· What piece of advice would you like to give yourself as you prepare for the upcoming year, be that academically, personally, or both?
I advise myself to truly learn from the experiences I acquired from my freshman year at the University of Cincinnati. I hope that rather than thinking of them as unique journeys I took, I will view them as tools that can be used to complete challenges and use them to create connections.