Mortenson Center Student Spotlights

Student standing in front of a rock formation at sunrise
Eliza Fink

Eliza Fink grew up in Colorado and, through outdoor recreation, became interested in environmental work. She led outdoor youth education activities and her interest in public land advocacy, climate change, and the human aspect of the environmental fields grew.

She came to CU Boulder and earned a BS in Environmental Engineering and participated in Engineers Without Borders (EWB). She learned about the inequalities that exist in global public health and decided to pursue opportunities in global engineering. She found the Mortenson Center and liked the supportive culture around having difficult conversations on complex issues such as power, privilege and ethics. At CU, Eliza is a research assistant with the Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership (SWS), and studies preventive maintenance approaches to sustaining rural water systems. She was also a member of this year's Colorado WASH Symposium planning committee.

Eliza will graduate with her Masters in Civil Engineering in May, 2022 and will earn the Certificate in Global Engineering from the Mortenson Center. To earn the Certificate, she is completing her Practicum working as a Resettlement Programs Intern at the African Community Center of Denver (ACC) where she helps resettle refugees and humanitarian parolees. Her work includes driving people to social security appointments, enrolling children in school, and helping families file paperwork for government assistance. She also assists with home WIFI installation that results in refugees having increased access to programs such as remote English classes. As an Intern, she has experienced the humanitarian side of processes within the U.S. and learned about the challenges individuals face when navigating them.

Her favorite aspect of the Mortenson Center is the community built around the human-centered nature of the program. After graduating, she plans to travel, improve her Spanish language skills, and find a job that balances technical and interpersonal skills with a focus on public health, the environment and equity.

 

Student standing with a black shirt and the Boulder Flatiron mountains in the background
Melanie Holland

Melanie Holland earned her bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As an undergraduate, she was interested in international environmental justice issues and became involved in international projects, including Engineers Without Borders. She decided to pursue a career in global engineering and chose to apply to the Mortenson Center because of its unique program offerings.

Melanie is now a fourth year Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering at CU Boulder and working to earn a Certificate in Global Engineering from the Mortenson Center. She is also the Finance Lead on the planning committee for this year's Colorado WASH Symposium. Her research focuses on improved monitoring and management of water resources in the western United States. She works to address data limitations that may impact the ability of water users to comply with local or regional water policies. She is also interested in improving groundwater data in arid regions, which rely heavily on groundwater for agricultural needs.

During the summer of 2019, Melanie completed her Mortenson Center practicum working with iDE Ghana in Tamale, a city in the arid northern region of Ghana. Here, local farmers face difficulties growing vegetables and distributing their crops to other regions of the country. Melanie worked with local farmers to determine best practices for farming and distributing chili peppers, and piloted a non-water intensive mushroom farm to determine large-scale feasibility. She also contributed to a sanitation project designing a sanitation truck to transport waste to the local wastewater treatment facility.

When not in class or working on her research, Melanie enjoys rock climbing and going on long hikes with friends. She appreciates the network of well-rounded and dedicated people at the Mortenson Center. 

 

 

 

 

 

Student posed on the ground in front of a bright red classic old truck
Jessica Darby

Jessica Darby is an undergraduate student studying environmental engineering at CU Boulder who is interested in using science and technology to solve natural-world problems.

As a freshman and sophomore, Jessica was in the Global Engineering Resident Academic Program (RAP), which gave her a sense of belonging in the CU community. This inspired her to become a RAP Assistant this year and create that community for other students.

Jessica also conducts research with the Mortenson Center as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. She works alongside Mortenson Center students Emily Bedell and Olivia Harmon developing a low-cost fluorescence sensor for bacterial enumeration in water distribution systems in low- and middle-income countries. Jessica’s was previously involved in research for the CUSew project, studying COVID levels on campus via wastewater monitoring.

Outside of classes and research, Jessica enjoys learning the art of bonsai, Sudoku puzzles, and playing card and board games. Her favorite thing about the Mortenson Center is the close-knit community of engineers and the variety of ways to get involved.