Submission Number: 160
Submission ID: 811
Submission UUID: 303ec041-de2c-4227-a2bb-2ab87b806c5c

Created: Mon, 03/21/2022 - 22:11
Completed: Mon, 03/21/2022 - 22:11
Changed: Thu, 05/08/2025 - 13:39

Remote IP address: 72.76.132.153
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No

Flagged: Yes
Locked: Yes
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Zarin
Saifee
She/Her
Basking Ridge
New Jersey
United States
07920-2673
Electrical and Computer Engineering
English
In 2019, I learned the value of not only appreciating what I have but also doing something important and impactful with it. I went to India, visited my grandparents at their ashram for two weeks; there, I worked with the Vidya Bhakti Anand Dham Gurukul, a school and dormitory that gives boys from small poor villages around India the opportunity to study. They live in the ashram and gain a preliminary education before deciding and preparing for what they want to do moving forward. Working closely with my grandmother, I spent those two weeks teaching these children how to work with Microsoft products like Excel, Word, and Powerpoint. While these were simple skills that I took for granted, I was given the ability to see firsthand how life-changing these programs could be for the boys. Appreciating the potential that computer skills and education, no matter how elementary, is so important for children to excel in other areas of their lives. I was able to watch, and help, as these skills gave them confidence and potential in every aspect of their future and it was amazing to see how excited and hopeful they became. I can’t go one day without thinking about those boys and how impactful my grandparents' work has been. I hope to one day inspire someone as much as they've inspired me. That small ashram and dormitory was a safe space for the boys to grow into their own skin, gain confidence and passion for something other than survival, and to take what they had at their fingertips and turn it into hope for their futures.
Down the hall from me, I would like someone who is able to effectively communicate their ideas, feelings, and expectations for others around them. I'd want them to be straightforward with any criticisms, but I would want the criticisms to be constructive rather than destructive. Being in a community of engineers, I know we will all be quite nerdy, but my ideal classmate down the hall would be able to socialize and be a little outgoing when it came to downtime. While all of the social and communication aspects are vital to an enriching learning environment, I know the most important detail about the person I'd want living down the hall from me, is that they are both studious and helpful. I want to be able to buckle down and focus on tough courses with fellow students, and I want my classmate down the hall to be able to work with me in order to gain a better understanding of the material.
I want to be a member of the Global Engineering RAP at CU Boulder because it provides a unique opportunity to take the information and skills that I learn in my classes and apply them to real-world issues. This RAP allows me to take experiences in the classroom and translate them to working to solve current issues that have an impact on those less fortunate than myself. I think this community will contribute to my training as an engineer and as a person because I think that after learning the foundation of engineering it is important to understand how it can help others. Working with others in the Global Engineering RAP Community will allow me to gain a global perspective on issues facing the world. I plan to contribute personally to the residential community because I bring not only a passion for engineering but also a drive because of the inspiring stories my parents tell from their immigration and adjustment to life in the US. I will also be able to contribute to the community with my prior experience in India, where I taught a collection of underprivileged students about technology and how it can be utilized to better their future.
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