Submission Number: 309
Submission ID: 1111
Submission UUID: 6bcd6622-0f78-4d1a-ab4a-1fa08c48dee7

Created: Sat, 03/04/2023 - 11:08
Completed: Sat, 03/04/2023 - 11:08
Changed: Thu, 05/08/2025 - 00:32

Remote IP address: 73.95.75.216
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No

Flagged: Yes
Locked: Yes
{Empty}
Joseph
Osborne
He/Him/His
Lakewood
Colorado
United States
80228
Undecided
English (5), Spanish (3)
I have had the opportunity to do two medical mission trips to Honduras. During my mission trips to Honduras, I was lucky enough to experience their wonderful culture, and rich history. I was happy to have their Baleadas and Citrates, as they were a delicious and unique food. I was thrilled to see a dance performance by the kids in the nearby foster home, based on the nation’s Ballet Folklórico Oro Lenca. And I loved speaking Spanish with the natives, even if I could not speak it very well. Unfortunately, despite Honduras’s wonderful people and immense culture, I could not ignore the country’s pressing issues. The hospital I volunteered at struggled to access effective equipment, and many of the people I spoke to rightfully complained of corruption in their government. With the gravity of these problems and citizen’s desire to fix them, what is stopping them from doing so?

I believe that before a country’s citizens can rise and overcome these complex dilemmas, one must first tackle the more fundamental and distracting problems that prevent them from receiving their basic needs. Proper sanitation, adequate housing, dependable transportation, and infrastructure all need to be initially addressed; problems involving engineering solutions. Once free from these essential concerns, Hondurans could then focus on the more complex challenges.

The use of engineering abroad will fix many of the issues present in Honduras and other developing countries throughout Latin America. For this reason, I have a passion for both engineering and the Spanish language, as learning both will prepare me to make a difference in the world.
If I could choose anyone to live down the hall from me in the Global Engineering RAP I would choose someone like my friend, Colm Murphy. Out of all the talented and educated students attending the D’Evelyn High School, Colm is perhaps the hardest working. His work ethic is contagious as I always feel the need to be more productive when I am around him. In our AP Physics class, I enjoy being his lab partner because we always are able to have discussions, brainstorms, and arguments over the task at hand that strengthen each of our minds. I was also fortunate enough to have the same AP Spanish class as him since his wide range of vocabulary makes every conversation with him a chance for me to expand my knowledge of the rich language.

I want to join this RAP to enrich both my engineering and Spanish language learning. Living with someone like Colm down the hall from me will further enhance my experience in this program on top of the study abroad opportunities and internships it already offers. My parents always tell me that the strength of my character is the average of the five people I hang out with the most. Because I am certain that there will be good, motivated people like Colm who will live with me in CU Boulder’s Global Engineering RAP, I look forward to becoming a better person throughout my years in college.
The Global Engineering RAP struck my interest due to its community built upon engineering, its study abroad opportunities that will improve my Spanish, and its encouragement of volunteering and offering service to others. A crucial part of being an engineer is being able to work with a team and grow with peers and instructors. What helps me the most through my rigorous AP Physics class is that everyone always gets a lab partner, or, as my teacher calls them, a very intelligent lab partner (VILP for short). I am enthusiastic about this RAP because I see this kind of teamwork reflected in their tight community of passionate engineers that help each other through their hard classes.

I am also interested in the program because of its ability to immerse students in a foreign language. One of my goals that I hope to achieve by the end of college is to become fluent in Spanish. I am confident that the RAP will be an effective tool in achieving this ambition as it offers study abroad trips to various Spanish-speaking countries with many scholarships attached. These semesters abroad will boost my language skills and help me grow in character along the way.

Finally, I plan to continue to offer my services to those in need. In the past I have enjoyed volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, the Jeffco Action Center, and the Spanish Honor Society at my high school. I especially enjoy urging others to do the same! I look forward joining a school that supports and encourages this work and I hope to use this culture to motivate my peers to join me in this spirit of giving back.
{Empty}