Submission Number: 82
Submission ID: 399
Submission UUID: 62431f32-4690-45a9-91cd-f35966eb7b42

Created: Tue, 05/11/2021 - 00:31
Completed: Tue, 05/11/2021 - 00:31
Changed: Tue, 05/06/2025 - 02:39

Remote IP address: 73.53.48.246
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No

Locked: Yes
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Brian
Ahn
he/him
Sammamish
WA
United States
98075
Mechanical Engineering
English (5), Spanish (3)
When I was a freshman in high school I went on a "school" trip with 20 upperclassmen from my school and a few teachers to multiple European countries. We visited Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, and Germany. Over the course of the two-week trip, I got to explore the major cities we stayed in and went on fun tours like castles and around the city, and also some serious places like the internment camp Auschwitz. The following year I visited Spain to see my sister who was spending the year abroad in a small coastal town called Cadiz. Here I got to practice my Spanish with locals and with my sister's host family as the town barely spoke English. Part of my decision to attend CU Boulder was their study abroad opportunities for Engineers. The idea that I could visit South Korea or Cairo to continue my education somewhere wildly different, or to spend time in Madrid and work to better my Spanish was one of the most exciting prospects.
The person I want to live down the hall from is someone who has been places I have not been. Someone who has differing opinions because they have seen things in the world I have not. I want someone who I can practice Spanish with and talk about their experience learning and using languages. I want to live down the hall from someone who is inviting and does not keep me from learning more about the world. I think that was the shortcoming of Spanish classes during high school. Not all the kids enjoyed talking in the language and it really withheld from the learning experience. The person I want to live down the hall from me is someone who is interested in seeing my growth of a language like Spanish because they too enjoy the idea of communicating with another part of the world. And maybe after everything, they will show me their favorite food spot that they feel represents their favorite part of the world.
During my modified tour of CU with a current student in the Leeds School of Business, I was introduced to RAPs. He explained to me how he took some classes on the first floor of his dorm building and spent a lot of time with the kids he lived around. The thing I enjoyed hearing about most was how connected it was. Movie nights were not a thing that people dreaded but something they looked forward to. Seeing that the Engineering RAP was for thinking on a global scale was so exciting to me. Especially with COVID this year I think that it has become apparent to me how out of touch with the world I am. I see countries like India that are in the worst heat of COVID they have seen struggling and I want to be able to work towards a piece of a solution. If I can get a taste of that through the Global Engineering RAP then it may end up being the best part about attending CU Boulder.
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