Submission Number: 377
Submission ID: 1310
Submission UUID: 007c36e6-47b5-48e7-93f0-55ff3ffcc59e

Created: Wed, 03/13/2024 - 20:54
Completed: Wed, 03/13/2024 - 20:54
Changed: Mon, 05/05/2025 - 22:27

Remote IP address: 73.93.116.91
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No

Flagged: Yes
{Empty}
Ryan
Baum
He/Him
Alamo
CA
USA
94507
Civil Engineering
English (5), Spanish (3)
I spent a summer abroad living in Amsterdam. During my time there I became very interested in the architecture and layout of the city, the many canals, bridges and of course bike lanes. It's a busy city, yet one built on efficiency. During my time there we were able to travel throughout Europe to many cities including Prague, Paris, Dresden, Copenhagen, Bruges, and San Sebastian to name a few. Each had very distinct characteristics and broadened my perspective on different ways of life. The travel throughout Europe also opened my eyes to train travel and rail systems which are immensely efficient and not used nearly enough in the U.S. for personal travel. In addition to my time in Europe I was able to spend a week traveling in Japan. Here I saw efficiency of train travel taken to the next level, on speed alone. I was also exposed to a new type of building architecture in Kyoto and throughout the smaller villages. More recently I traveled to Costa Rica and Mexico where I was exposed to third world issues which greatly affect quality of life. These countries have very little infrastructure to support getting around. A trip within Costa Rica from Monteverde to the beach town of Tamarindo took 3.5 hours by hired car on poorly maintanined two-lane roads, with no direct route and no options for train or air travel. My travel abroad has opened my eyes to many new cultures. I hope to study abroad while at CU Boulder.
I have a diverse set of friends, all of whom I’ve come to respect and appreciate. So, it’s not easy to select a specific type of person to room/live with. For instance, my close friends include athletes, gamers, and bookworms. They are in Scouts, on soccer clubs and in engineering clubs. They come from many different backgrounds including other countries. What’s important is that I’ve learned from each of them and appreciate their different interests and perspectives.

There is some commonality amongst my friends. I find them all to be smart, friendly, genuine, open, and easy going. In addition, they have a sense for adventure, and make me laugh. They take their schoolwork and activities seriously, but not themselves seriously.

These are the qualities that I’m attracted to and the types of people that I hope to establish long-lasting friendships with. Ideally my hall-mate would embody these characteristics. And as a bonus, my hall-mate would be punctual, tidy and love good food.
I’m very intrigued by the Global Engineering RAP opportunity. I can think of no better environment to learn and develop as engineer than to be amongst a group of people with similar interests and like-minded goals.

Having travelled abroad extensively, the opportunity to collaborate on global challenges and solutions is very near and dear to me.

If selected, I believe I would bring unique experiences and perspectives to the group. I have had a wide range of experiences to draw from, including my travel abroad and my research related studies on infrastructure issues. I also pride myself in giving back to the community, having led and/or participated in many charitable activities through both my 12 years in Boy Scouts and my on-going involvement with Boys Team Charity.

With aspirations to design sustainable and efficient structures, and to help alleviate environmental issues, I feel like being part of the Global Engineering RAP would be a golden opportunity with the potential to provide major positive impact on our communities.
{Empty}