Submission Number: 219
Submission ID: 922
Submission UUID: e2dd8e09-f8a9-4f08-9272-70334a6a248d

Created: Wed, 04/13/2022 - 11:51
Completed: Wed, 04/13/2022 - 11:51
Changed: Fri, 05/09/2025 - 09:34

Remote IP address: 128.138.129.52
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No

Flagged: Yes
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Divyanshi
Mishra
she/her
Highlands Ranch
CO
United States
80130
Environmental Engineering
Hindi (5), English (5) Spanish (1)
I was born in a small village in India and gained much experience with the community amidst underdeveloped portions of third world countries. Moving to America at age 5 proved a drastic shift for me, introducing me to the Western culture that I for a long time observed only through movies and television shows. Yet, my naive, starry-eyed viewpoint towards American society quickly soured with skepticism through cultural shock and the lack of understanding from my kindergarten peers, only familiar with the small world they lived in. Shame and the sting of inferiority gnawed at the back of my mind, fueled by my newfound disgust towards my cultural identity. From the homemade lunches my mom prepared for me, to the religious jewelry of Hinduism, my peers found ways to adulterate my identity with bitter mockery. However, as the school curriculum added ethnic education to our middle school curriculum, I found that ethnic and racial diversions were rooted in misunderstanding and unfamiliarity, especially in the predominantly white neighborhood I grew up in. The Global Engineering RAP shows promise of promoting a worldly perspective, dissolving the cracks of ignorance in the realm of equality.
Hello, Global Engineering RAP student and hopefully future friend!

I hope you aren’t allergic to plants since I can’t wait for you to meet my potted Sago Palm. Did you know that the sago palm removes up to 87% of indoor pollutants? Despite the many advances of technology, nature remains the original healing force, and I’m fascinated by the aspect of exploring the possibilities of combining the two to reverse the damages we’ve inflicted upon our planet.

Something I find interesting is that not only does nature heal the planet, but it also heals us. The sago plant improves concentration and productivity by 47%, while I spend my free time reading Nietzsche and Sartre. Along with my environmental interests, you might find me flipping through Being and Nothingness or The Rebel and learning how we make sense of our surroundings.

Whenever we come back from a tough day at school, the Sago palm greets us as a natural stress reliever. If that fails, we can go mountain biking amongst the fresh spring greenery, take a road trip to explore the traces of history left in the many abandoned ghost towns of Colorado, or plan a camping trip for the weekend in the depths of the Rockies. If you're doing anything outdoors, don't forget to invite me!

As a part of a Hindu household, I’ve always acknowledged the sacred and religious value of plants, from the neem tree representing protection from evil spirits to the tulsi plant, for the purification of the soul. Who knows, as our bond grows we might even share a Laceleaf plant, symbolizing friendship and connection.

Sincerely,
Divyanshi
My recollections of water shortages first-hand in India inspired me to partake in the Global Engineering RAP program and voice the challenges of those silenced without internet access or the media to spread their word. As I concentrated my efforts on my environmental engineering passions, I volunteered at the Carson Nature Center, where I gained familiarity with the South Platte River and the protocols around maintaining the water levels and resisting the impacts of climate change. Yet, throughout the experience, I felt an uneasy pit in the bottom of my stomach, for the proactivity of the park reminded me of the lack of regulations around the dire conditions of India, left to spiral under a negligent government condemning the citizens to a rotting world. Simultaneously, I was bewildered by the lack of awareness of the extent of the climate crisis in first-world countries, in which the real damages are locked out of sight. Through the Global Engineering RAP program, I aspire to remove the rose-tinted glasses portraying the beautiful scenery of Colorado, into the catastrophic harms of the climate injustice centralized in developing countries and utilize the partnership between engineering and business to grow climate change efforts across borders.
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