When applying to colleges, I was looking for a place where I could learn how to address water access sustainability challenges facing our society. I was drawn to UMD because of its strong engineering ranking, and because their civil engineering major is split into three tracks, one of which is focused specifically on environmental and water resources. My decision to attend UMD was cemented after a tour of their engineering facilities, where I got to see the amazing wealth of research opportunities and facilities available to students on campus.

 

My best experience with a class and project was in my QUEST capstone course. QUEST is a multidisciplinary program in which students from business, engineering, and natural and computer science backgrounds work in teams on projects with real-world clients to gain hands-on consulting experience. Working on my capstone was such an amazing experience because it really pushed me to explore topics I never would have covered otherwise, and it was such a joy to work alongside a team of super motivated students with a really engaged client. It was also super rewarding, because our team won best capstone!

 

ENCE 431: Hydrologic Engineering

 

HNUH 248X: Ecology of Identity

 

Engineers Without Borders
QUEST Honors Program
Engineering Honors Program
University Honors Program
The Beekeeping Club
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Honor Society)
Chi Epsilon (Civil Engineering Honor Society)

 

My favorite on-campus event is NextNow Fest, which I actually attended for the first time this year. They had a student art exhibition, a guest concert, a student art market, a photobooth, shirts, and more, all free of charge!

 

My favorite study abroad experience was when I did a short-term study abroad in Greece during summer break. We went absolutely everywhere in Athens, and even went beyond Athens to Corinth and some of the Greek Islands. We also got to try all sorts of cultural foods and dances. All of the students on the trip were a lot of fun, the professor was fantastic, and the project was engaging and helped me learn new areas of my major that I wouldn't have otherwise. 

 

One of my favorite engineering experiences my entire time at the Clark school was when I traveled to Uganda with Engineers Without Borders for an assessment trip. During the trip we conducted soil tests, land surveying, investigated local building material prices, and conducted community interviews, all of which helped give our team a better sense of how best to design a solution for the community. Getting to connect in-person with members of the community we are partnered with was a really wonderful experience, and really energized our team.