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Submission information
Submission Number: 276
Submission ID: 982
Submission UUID: 3aa41d3f-d8d4-4a74-af21-436aa6d2e556
Created: Fri, 04/15/2022 - 21:12
Completed: Fri, 04/15/2022 - 21:12
Changed: Tue, 05/06/2025 - 11:13
Remote IP address: 207.183.232.163
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English
Is draft: No
Flagged: Yes
Locked: Yes
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Alejandro
Montgomery
he/him
Lorton
VA
United States
22079
Environmental Engineering Major
English (5) Spanish (5)
I spent the last three years of high school (sophomore through senior) in Madrid, Spain completing an International Baccalaureate degree. The school had a very strong group of multicultural and diverse students and teachers from a relatively wide range of countries. This environment allowed me to learn and socialize with people from different parts of the world, each of whom shared different values, beliefs, and ideas. The bringing together of these unique and different ideas created interesting and fruitful discussions, and a learning experience that pushed everyone to stay open to new ideas. During this extended time in Spain, I was able to learn how to better convey my ideas and opinions to people who might not share the same thoughts and background and remain open to new ones. I believe these traits are important as open and transparent communication is a fundamental aspect of any academic discipline, and even more so for the Global Engineering RAP, given it’s a multidisciplinary program made up of people from different backgrounds.
Another impactful travel experience was when I went to Panama to visit the indigenous peoples of Kuna Yala, specifically on Tiger Island. I traveled with a group of people from the Interamerican Development Bank to both bring food and water and participate in some of their discussions on issues the island was facing including lack of potable water and adequate waste disposal. Although I only spent a week with the community, I learned a lot about teamwork and the value of a transparent and participatory decision-making process based on consensus-based decisions, and what it takes to solve real-world problems when faced with difficult environmental challenges. For me, teamwork and participatory problem solving and decision making are key aspects in helping to successfully implement environmental engineering at the global level.
Another impactful travel experience was when I went to Panama to visit the indigenous peoples of Kuna Yala, specifically on Tiger Island. I traveled with a group of people from the Interamerican Development Bank to both bring food and water and participate in some of their discussions on issues the island was facing including lack of potable water and adequate waste disposal. Although I only spent a week with the community, I learned a lot about teamwork and the value of a transparent and participatory decision-making process based on consensus-based decisions, and what it takes to solve real-world problems when faced with difficult environmental challenges. For me, teamwork and participatory problem solving and decision making are key aspects in helping to successfully implement environmental engineering at the global level.
There are a couple of attributes I hope the person down the hall has. Firstly, they would be able to constructively discuss and even challenge my ideas and provide alternative thoughts and perspectives into our discussions. I personally would like to be challenged to help improve my technical skills, but more importantly, my receptiveness to different perspectives and constructive criticism.
Secondly, I would also hope that we share similar overall goals and objectives related to helping solve global environmental engineering and sustainability problems and opportunities. Since there are many different challenges; this type of person, and our subsequent interactions, would help both of us build our motivation and endurance for the years of hard work to come.
Finally, I would want to live next to someone who is open and our communication would be easy and relatively effortless. This would make for a better social experience at the RAP. In other words, making friends and doing things together would be easy, enjoyable, and encouraged.
Secondly, I would also hope that we share similar overall goals and objectives related to helping solve global environmental engineering and sustainability problems and opportunities. Since there are many different challenges; this type of person, and our subsequent interactions, would help both of us build our motivation and endurance for the years of hard work to come.
Finally, I would want to live next to someone who is open and our communication would be easy and relatively effortless. This would make for a better social experience at the RAP. In other words, making friends and doing things together would be easy, enjoyable, and encouraged.
Firstly, I’d like to further build the range of technical and interpersonal skills needed for a more holistic approach to environmental engineering in order to find sustainable solutions to address present-day and future issues. I grew up in a multicultural (USA and Spain) and bilingual family, surrounded by friends and family from different cultures, and attended an international school in Spain (doing the International Baccalaureate program). While my background has allowed me to understand a wide variety of different perspectives and ideas, I believe the GE-RAP would provide me with an excellent opportunity to further expand in this area. My distinctive, open-minded, and focused way of looking at life and problem solving would diversify the engineering community at GE-RAP.
Secondly, I believe the GE-RAP provides an excellent opportunity for collaboration in engineering, being a collective group providing a range of opinions and ideas to define solutions and solve problems. This approach allows different perspectives leading to enhanced innovation and project improvements, but also in expanding the individual development of those involved. The strengths I bring to the collaborative process include my range of experiences in both being a leader and participant in team and related activities. Furthermore, my diverse cultural and intellectual background and interests provide me with key skills in collaborative efforts. Especially as the world’s challenges are ever-increasingly multi-dimensional, they require a wider range of knowledge and the ability to interact effectively with professionals in different fields.
Finally, I strongly believe that environmental engineering will play a major role in the sustainable development and restoration of the world. There are numerous applications of environmental engineerings, such as clean energy and water, sustainable systems and infrastructure, and pollution remediation. These ideas guided me into environmental engineering and shaped my interests, both academically and socially, to create a more sustainable future for our planet. I believe that GE-RAP will help me achieve this vision, while also providing this perspective to other GE-RAP students.
Secondly, I believe the GE-RAP provides an excellent opportunity for collaboration in engineering, being a collective group providing a range of opinions and ideas to define solutions and solve problems. This approach allows different perspectives leading to enhanced innovation and project improvements, but also in expanding the individual development of those involved. The strengths I bring to the collaborative process include my range of experiences in both being a leader and participant in team and related activities. Furthermore, my diverse cultural and intellectual background and interests provide me with key skills in collaborative efforts. Especially as the world’s challenges are ever-increasingly multi-dimensional, they require a wider range of knowledge and the ability to interact effectively with professionals in different fields.
Finally, I strongly believe that environmental engineering will play a major role in the sustainable development and restoration of the world. There are numerous applications of environmental engineerings, such as clean energy and water, sustainable systems and infrastructure, and pollution remediation. These ideas guided me into environmental engineering and shaped my interests, both academically and socially, to create a more sustainable future for our planet. I believe that GE-RAP will help me achieve this vision, while also providing this perspective to other GE-RAP students.
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