Submission Number: 393
Submission ID: 1333
Submission UUID: f09549ca-d0b9-4b8b-b658-f75fd6796411

Created: Sat, 03/30/2024 - 11:19
Completed: Sat, 03/30/2024 - 11:19
Changed: Tue, 05/27/2025 - 09:36

Remote IP address: 104.225.166.132
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
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Cassidy
Ward
She/her
Johnson City
Tennessee
United States
37604
Engineering-open option/global engineering minor
English (5), French (2), Haitian Creole (3)
By studying engineering, I hope to make an impact and give back to communities. My family and I moved to Haiti when I was seven years old and we lived there for five years. We lived in a rural town on the southern peninsula, with dirt roads and without a central electrical grid or water delivery system. With no knowledge of Haitian Creole or French, I had to learn both languages from scratch by hearing my fellow students speak at school and by looking at my school textbooks. With little to no instruction in English from my teachers, it was a difficult transition at first and really challenged me. I became closer with my siblings by putting on plays, playing hide and seek, and seeking adventures in other ways. After some time, I was able to navigate the language and culture more, which allowed me to branch out more and connect with my classmates. I was able to navigate the market and negotiate prices with the vendors selling potatoes, beans, vegetables and pates, a Haitian meat pie. By overcoming the language barriers and navigating a new culture, I realized that I enjoy challenging myself and look forward to experiencing more challenges through the Global Engineering RAP.
I want someone who is passionate about making an impact on the world even if it is in a really small way. I want someone who is willing to immerse themselves in challenges and don’t see failure as a stopping point. I want someone who learns from both their successes and failures and everything in between. I want someone who is hard-working, but also knows it’s okay to relax and have fun with those around them. I want someone who is willing to encourage and support those around them. I want someone who is willing to step outside of their comfort zone to help others and gain new experiences. I want someone who cares about others.
As a member of the Global Engineering RAP, I will have access to a tight-knit community. With arts and crafts nights and study groups before finals, I will be part of a welcoming environment where students can have fun together, but also support each other by studying and collaborating. From my experience moving to Haiti as a child, I understand the importance of community to support others and help them through challenges. The Global Engineering RAP provides this support to its students with activities to decompress, study groups to support students academically and dog walks with the Managing Director. The dog walks allow students to have a tighter bond with faculty while also allowing them to ask questions and gain insights. I want to be part of a community where students and faculty share a common goal and support each other.
The Global Engineering RAP allows students to have access to global opportunities. I will have priority registration to the Introduction to Global Engineering Course. With this class being required for members of the RAP, I will be able to form a tighter bond with other students in RAP who are interested in global engineering. In addition, over half of the students in the Global Engineering RAP participate in Engineers Without Borders, Engineers in Action and study abroad programs, which I plan on participating in all three of these opportunities. In addition, the RAP allows me to have a fast track to the Global Engineering Minor, which I want to pursue. With living in Haiti, I understand the importance of learning the language and culture in order to communicate with others in order to be successful. The Global Engineering Minor has a foreign language requirement, which the RAP supports with language group dinners where students can practice their language skills with each other. I hope to improve my language skills while also learning a new language. I believe that this community will provide me with the tools to be successful in engineering and to gain experience in global engineering.
The Global Engineering RAP has a focus on helping communities with sanitation, clean water and infrastructure. My interest in engineering sparked when a hurricane completely destroyed the rusted bridge, already filled with holes, that my siblings and I walked across each day on our way to school in Haiti. Until the bridge was rebuilt, we, along with our classmates, had to walk barefoot through water to get across the river for more than two months.This ignited my interest in global engineering as I began to ponder the process of constructing strong and stable structures and made me want to work on engineering projects that would benefit communities similar to the one where I grew up in Haiti. I hope to contribute my passion for making an impact in communities that lack infrastructure, clean water, and sanitation since I was able to witness it first-hand. My school didn’t have running water, electricity or indoor plumbing for toilets. Furthermore, a lot of the community didn’t have access to these amenities. By witnessing these challenges, I want to help provide others with access to clean water, consistent and reliable electricity, and infrastructure. By being a part of the Global Engineering RAP, I will gain hands-on experience and expertise to benefit communities similar to the one where I grew up in Haiti. I hope to contribute my experience of living in a different country. I hope to contribute my hard working mindset to work through problems and find solutions. I hope to take advantage of all of the unique opportunities provided by Global Engineering RAP.
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