Submission Number: 436
Submission ID: 1564
Submission UUID: 36bafd29-4fe9-41c8-b2ba-75bc937d8222

Created: Fri, 02/28/2025 - 17:14
Completed: Fri, 02/28/2025 - 17:15
Changed: Mon, 05/12/2025 - 00:25

Remote IP address: 73.3.202.21
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No

Flagged: Yes
{Empty}
Shepherd
Maren
He/Him
Evergreen
Colorado
United States of America
80439
Computer Science/Computational Biology
English (5), Spanish (4).
My variety of international travel experience has cemented my intrigue in engineering. I find the greatest enjoyment in journeying to the remote villages of Spain and Mexico during holidays where I can find time not only to touch up my Spanish skills but also to observe in awe the engineering feats of these communities. The towering catholic missions and intricate irrigation systems of Loreto Bay along with the devastating coastal cannons engineered during the Spanish Civil War in Mallorca never fail to impress. Many of these areas are poverty ridden, yet engineering continues to thrive, proving that the discipline is not limited to the wealthy. I have come to learn that engineering is also not limited to the borders of the United States, and that some of the most impressive engineering efforts are located overseas. The summer leading into my junior year was also filled with enlightening new perspectives as I traveled across Europe: the construction of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia is more advanced than most U.S. historical monuments, and Venice’s millennium-old well-water collection system defies engineering standards today. Moving North, as my family and I crossed over the Landwasser Viaduct in Switzerland while traveling on the Bernina Express, I couldn’t help but marvel at the precision needed to construct such an immense and breathtaking structure. Standing at 213 feet, the railway viaduct is the tallest in the country, and is responsible for connecting Filisur to Thusis. The United States certainly does not hold a monopoly over engineering. My travels have proved to me that true ingenuity exists in other countries and cultures and that a global education would most appropriately suit a modern engineering degree.
Engineering is not limited to the United States and in fact its beginnings predate the colonization of the Americas by centuries. Engineering disciplines exist that are more commonly practiced in some countries than others, such as Italy's structural engineering over Mexico’s and Mexico’s agricultural engineering over Italy’s. No one country specializes in every type of engineering, yet an exposure to unique perspectives from its various types is necessary for a diverse problem solving mindset. For example, Mexico may begin to specialize in structural engineering, but it lacks Italy’s experience within the realm of infrastructure and design. However, an individual with an interdisciplinary toolset of engineering may be able to offer valuable and wide-ranging perspectives from other countries such as Italy to aid countries like Mexico. To create such infrastructure, technology and AI will need to assist, which is where knowledge of software engineering—specialized more in certain other countries—may become particularly valuable. Global engineering encourages a diverse array of perspectives; many engineering disciplines are interwoven and the knowledge of one field may play into that of another.
Being a member of the Global Engineering RAP would provide an education rich in diverse perspectives and opportunities. I cannot imagine earning a degree in any engineering discipline without global experience and an exposure to different engineering circumstances such as those within Mexico and Italy. This discipline is also highly collaborative and the tight-knit community will hopefully provide the support and resources to thrive in the field. Smaller classes of shared academic interests are also appealing to me because teacher-student interactions along with student-student interactions lead to a greater exchange of ideas and unique perspectives, similar to how a global education offers diverse problem-solving approaches. Engineering is a global discipline, and it is hard to imagine myself becoming an engineer within the boundaries of the U.S.