Submission Number: 24
Submission ID: 273
Submission UUID: 4ec714d1-5cb1-4286-b2a0-7e49aa84f88a

Created: Tue, 03/30/2021 - 21:00
Completed: Tue, 03/30/2021 - 21:00
Changed: Tue, 05/06/2025 - 10:31

Remote IP address: 68.7.125.117
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No

Flagged: Yes
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Jonathon
Whitten
He/Him
Santee
California
United States
92071
Aerospace Engineering Sciences
English 5, Mandarin 3.5
Both of my parents are immigrants, my mother from Taiwan, and my father from the United Kingdom. Since I was young they have taken me around the world to introduce me to new cultures and ideas. I have always appreciated since I was a child just how different some areas can be in the simplest of ways such as how in the US often glass doors in storefronts are activated by an IR door sensor, but in Taiwan there is often a button on the door to open it. Traveling has also helped me better understand how culture influences engineering design. The difference between those doors is likely due to there being more value to the convenience in American culture, compared to more value to better heat management in Taiwanese culture. After noticing these differences the first few times, I always enjoy actively seeking them out now whenever I travel.
I would enjoy having someone down the hall from me who has similar, yet different interests. I obviously would love to have people to talk about aerospace with, as that’s what I’m majoring in, but I would really value being able to talk to someone I may know relatively little about, such as a biomedical engineering major. Being exposed to new ideas is always beneficial, and a mechanism they may be working on for a prosthetic arm may transfer surprisingly well to the mechanism for actuating a wing flap. Regarding hobbies, I believe it’s also important to have a few common hobbies to start somewhere, but I always love learning about new hobbies and trying them even if I may not go terribly far down that hobbies’ rabbit hole. Having someone with diverse interests down the hall would be fantastic for me to both have someone that I can connect with and learn from.
I would also love for them to be from a culture I am unfamiliar with. Multiculturalism has been something I have always greatly valued growing up. Both of my parents are immigrants from two very different countries, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Having someone down the hall from a different culture with would be a fantastic way to learn about another culture. Having exposure to another culture reveals more than just new holidays and history, but beliefs, virtues and concepts that may be completely new. This not only gives me a new set of ideas, but also encourages me to examine and challenge my own beliefs.
Since I was a child I have valued the importance of multiculturalism. My mother is from Taiwan, and my father is from England. . Their differing backgrounds meant they often had drastically different opinions, leading me to consider multiple viewpoints since childhood. I learned to take both their points into account when forming my own viewpoint. I found that seeing the strengths in both arguments and combining them ultimately led to a richer answer. In engineering these differences in culture can also help lead to differing designs for the same problem, and just as I had with considering my parents opinions, a combination of different designs often leads to a stronger outcome. The Global Engineering RAP would enable me to gain even more exposure to different cultures and ideas, helping me grow as an engineer and as a person. EVEN 2004 would also help me further understand some of the specifics regarding historical and geopolitical situations that have led to pressing modern day issues such as safe drinking water— and how those situations influence the potential solutions. Ultimately my love of engineering is in it’s practical solutions to problems affecting humanity, and the Global Engineering RAP would help me best utilize my engineering abilities to do good for the world.
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