The View page displays a submission's general information and data. Watch video
Submission information
Submission Number: 15
Submission ID: 253
Submission UUID: ce278451-c083-419f-844b-d8dca1e8694f
Created: Sun, 03/14/2021 - 12:24
Completed: Sun, 03/14/2021 - 12:24
Changed: Wed, 05/07/2025 - 11:42
Remote IP address: 73.203.120.188
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English
Is draft: No
Locked: Yes
{Empty}
Shannon
Blanco
She/hers
Louisville
Colorado
United States of America
80027
Biomedical Engineering
English (5), Spanish (3)
The Global Engineering RAP at CU Boulder strives to recognize and understand the hardships people can face in developing countries and struggling socio-economic communities. Growing up, I had the opportunity to experience many of these imbalances first hand by volunteering in my local community and throughout the country. While I haven’t traveled internationally (I was planning to volunteer internationally this summer, but Covid canceled our plans), I believe that these social divides are both a national and international issue.
Some of the most memorable but eye-opening experiences I’ve had have been the service trips I go on with other high school students during the summer. Two years ago I went to El Paso, Texas, where I spent a week learning about immigration and the impact it has on people’s lives. I talked to border patrol officers, spoke with some women in Juarez, Mexico through the border wall, and listened to an illegal immigrant talk about living with that status in this country. Instead of trying to “fix” a problem on this service trip, I valued the experience of learning any and all struggles surrounding immigration. I imaging the Global Engineering RAP’s goals to be similar to the outcome of my trip to El Paso. I might not have made the largest physical impact during my time in El Paso, but I feel like I gained something much more valuable: a strong understanding of what causes some of the biggest issues surrounding immigration. This knowledge is what will allow someone to find a greater, permanent and lasting solution to the issue of immigration.
Last summer I went to Crownpoint, New Mexico. There, I spent a week digging post holes to build the solid foundation of a new community center for the Navajo people. Although I did leave a physical impact on the community while I was there, I also had the opportunity to build personal relationships and connections with the Navajo community, hiking with one man to his ancestral home, and watching another make traditional jewelry. I learned about the history of the Navajo culture, as well as how they were designated to live on the land they do today.
Going on trips to under-served and impoverished communities opened my eyes to a more harsh reality of the hardships that people face in America. Additionally, I know that people worldwide face similar challenges every day. These service trips have helped prepare me for the Global Engineering RAP because I value learning and understanding the causes of issues that can help be solved by engineering, not just seeing a problem and solving it.
Some of the most memorable but eye-opening experiences I’ve had have been the service trips I go on with other high school students during the summer. Two years ago I went to El Paso, Texas, where I spent a week learning about immigration and the impact it has on people’s lives. I talked to border patrol officers, spoke with some women in Juarez, Mexico through the border wall, and listened to an illegal immigrant talk about living with that status in this country. Instead of trying to “fix” a problem on this service trip, I valued the experience of learning any and all struggles surrounding immigration. I imaging the Global Engineering RAP’s goals to be similar to the outcome of my trip to El Paso. I might not have made the largest physical impact during my time in El Paso, but I feel like I gained something much more valuable: a strong understanding of what causes some of the biggest issues surrounding immigration. This knowledge is what will allow someone to find a greater, permanent and lasting solution to the issue of immigration.
Last summer I went to Crownpoint, New Mexico. There, I spent a week digging post holes to build the solid foundation of a new community center for the Navajo people. Although I did leave a physical impact on the community while I was there, I also had the opportunity to build personal relationships and connections with the Navajo community, hiking with one man to his ancestral home, and watching another make traditional jewelry. I learned about the history of the Navajo culture, as well as how they were designated to live on the land they do today.
Going on trips to under-served and impoverished communities opened my eyes to a more harsh reality of the hardships that people face in America. Additionally, I know that people worldwide face similar challenges every day. These service trips have helped prepare me for the Global Engineering RAP because I value learning and understanding the causes of issues that can help be solved by engineering, not just seeing a problem and solving it.
I enjoy spending time with people who are fun and spontaneous. People who will go to the 24-hour Walgreens at midnight on a Tuesday just to get ice cream, decide to join me in the kitchen on a random afternoon to make chocolate chip cookies, or wake up super early to watch the sunrise bounce off the flatirons and the red tops of the CU-Boulder campus. I believe in studying hard and playing hard, and I prefer to live with other people who feel the same. I expect to spend lots of hours in study rooms with other students, but I also hope to spend time hiking in the mountains, snowboarding and attending basketball games. I want to share a living space with people who are excited to live life, explore and have fun, but who also know when it is time to study hard and put in the hours on coursework. I don’t see myself as an engineer first, but as a person with lots of interests who just happens to want to study engineering. I would like to live down the hall from somebody who feels the same because engineering doesn’t define us, our passions and personalities define us. The person living down the hall from me in Kit Central will be passionate, studious, dedicated and friendly. They will keep their door open and be willing to share in fun and friendship, and willing to explore campus and Boulder and the mountains.
I want to be a part of the Global Engineering RAP because I am passionate about science and believe that working with other passionate students who want to combine skills in engineering with a desire to help those experiencing challenges due to persistent global poverty will be both fulfilling and exciting. I am interested in joining a community of ambitious people who want to learn from each other and with each other while learning about how to approach international engineering problems. My life now is defined by several communities. My soccer community, my school community, my friends, my neighborhood and my church communities. I am hopeful that the Global Engineering RAP will be a friendly and encouraging community, and I am excited about learning to be more culturally fluent, brushing up on my Spanish and making new friends. The Mortenson center classes sound interesting as well and I look forward to being able to take some of those classes in the dorm with my community members. I am also excited about social RAP gatherings and events, like craft nights and language group dinners.
My service trips to El Paso, Texas and Crownpoint, New Mexico impacted my decision to study biomedical engineering, and seeing the disparity of medical resources that under-served populations have access to impacted my dream to transform the accuracy and efficiency of medical equipment in order to provide more accessible medical aid to those in need, more specifically in struggling socio-economic communities and developing countries. I think the Global Engineering RAP will help me achieve my goals because the first step to instigating change is understanding the challenge, and the Global Engineering RAP focuses on what causes the challenge. I want to become an engineer to help solve problems, and I want to continue volunteering through college so that I can see additional problems that I might be able to help solve. I believe that many of the problems the world is facing now could be reduced or eliminated if engineers could find cost-effective ways to reduce the cost of solutions, especially in the medical arena.
Additionally, I would love the opportunity to surround myself with other people who are excited to create innovative solutions to problems that lower others’ quality of life. Having such a strong and inspiring support system will drive me in academics and encourage me to make deeper connections outside of the classroom.
I believe I can contribute to this community because I am excited about learning new things and meeting new people. I enjoy collaborating with other students and am interested in sharing past experiences as well creating new shared experiences that we can all discuss and learn from. I plan to participate in dorm events and hope to also share experiences outside of the dorm with my new roommates. I also hope to be able to contribute my perspective and learn from other perspectives during my first year in college as I try to transition personally and academically to the college environment. I am really excited about what I have read about this program, but also what I have heard about from students who have been through this program. I know engineering is a challenging field, but I believe that by joining the Global Engineering RAP, I will be part of a community that will make a greater impact on the CU engineering community than I can individually, and to me, that is exciting.
My service trips to El Paso, Texas and Crownpoint, New Mexico impacted my decision to study biomedical engineering, and seeing the disparity of medical resources that under-served populations have access to impacted my dream to transform the accuracy and efficiency of medical equipment in order to provide more accessible medical aid to those in need, more specifically in struggling socio-economic communities and developing countries. I think the Global Engineering RAP will help me achieve my goals because the first step to instigating change is understanding the challenge, and the Global Engineering RAP focuses on what causes the challenge. I want to become an engineer to help solve problems, and I want to continue volunteering through college so that I can see additional problems that I might be able to help solve. I believe that many of the problems the world is facing now could be reduced or eliminated if engineers could find cost-effective ways to reduce the cost of solutions, especially in the medical arena.
Additionally, I would love the opportunity to surround myself with other people who are excited to create innovative solutions to problems that lower others’ quality of life. Having such a strong and inspiring support system will drive me in academics and encourage me to make deeper connections outside of the classroom.
I believe I can contribute to this community because I am excited about learning new things and meeting new people. I enjoy collaborating with other students and am interested in sharing past experiences as well creating new shared experiences that we can all discuss and learn from. I plan to participate in dorm events and hope to also share experiences outside of the dorm with my new roommates. I also hope to be able to contribute my perspective and learn from other perspectives during my first year in college as I try to transition personally and academically to the college environment. I am really excited about what I have read about this program, but also what I have heard about from students who have been through this program. I know engineering is a challenging field, but I believe that by joining the Global Engineering RAP, I will be part of a community that will make a greater impact on the CU engineering community than I can individually, and to me, that is exciting.
{Empty}