“…The summer of 2010 was when my
airplane touched down in the second largest city in the world, São Paulo, Brazil. This is the
birthplace of my mother, a specimen I observed for sixteen fundamental years,
yet could never understand; her quirks seemed alien and excessive to my once
content American mind. I realized that though the United States holds a
superior reputation that does not mean we automatically have a monopoly over
beneficial practices— or even culture… I feel that the United States is being
blinded by modernization; we are losing connection to the natural world... Typical
Brazilians do not … need, the luxuries of home dishwashers, clothes driers…
These are examples of superfluous innovations; as convenient as they make
things, do they serve any greater purpose? It would turn my stomach to
contribute to the numerous temptations of our materialistic society. I want to
work toward purposeful innovations; I want to protect what is left of the
unrefined world instead of promoting further exploitation…
Before
my trip, I was split between arbitrary professions not sure what to pursue I
figured math and science were my best bet, being my strongest subjects, yet
that only provided a broader horizon of
possibilities. Keeping in mind that the promotion of materialism and tolerance
for the problems of society are not legacies I want to leave behind; I felt an
instant devotion for chemical engineering.
I understood that dependency on non-renewable resources had universal
consequences that truly troubled me, and I didn’t want to just protest against
them; I wanted to be part of the solution. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “You must be
the change you want to see in the world,” and that is exactly what I plan to
do.”
Why I am so fond of
international development and agriculture:
So, I came to the U of A with the
intentions of getting involved with biofuel research with Dr. Hestikin.
However, I quickly lost focus of that goal after getting involved with Arkansas
Engineers Abroad (AEA). After the first semester of freshman year, I found
myself in the village of More Tomorrow in Belize building a foundation for a
water tower that would provide a reliable source of clean drinking water to the
village.
 |
| We hand mixed 16,000 lbs of concrete |
 |
| and hand dug all four 3'x3'x3' footings! |
Strawberries
and India
In the summer after my freshman
year, I was broke and with travel plans again. Luckily, I found a job picking strawberries. I learned a lot about farming and the
struggles that come when your income depends on the mercy of Mother Nature.
From this experience, reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, and watching King Corn, I realized how difficult if it is to be a farmer who produces nutritious and high quality produce to compete with produce grown by farmers who are more concerned about quantity rather than quality.
Anyway a few weeks after the end of strawberry season, I was bound for India. In
India, I spent six weeks studying Globalization and Innovation and witnessed
the bottlenecking power a lack of infrastructure has in regards to water
provisioning and purification, sanitation, food distribution, shelter, and
energy distribution.
 |
| Check out the electrical grid in Old Delhi. |
 |
| Sometimes public transit is a hassle.. |
AEA Projects: Belize and Tri Cycle Farms
During my sophomore and junior
year of college I stayed committed to AEA’s project in Belize and started a
rainwater catchment system project at Tri Cycle Farms in Fayetteville. Since these project required a know-how of subjects I had no know-how of... I read:
From these books, I learned about
the elements of an effective international development project and got to apply
some of the lessons learned during AEA’s January 2014 trip to More Tomorrow.
During this trip we conducted a community-wide survey to access the health,
sanitation, and water usage of the village. The results of the survey showed poor
public health due to a lack of sanitation and drainage infrastructure.
 |
| One of the pit latrines in the village. They tend to contaminate surrounding standing water. |
 |
| The wetland that develops around this family's house in the wet season; it enables the spread of mosquito & water-borne diseases. |
In conclusion:
Due on my college experiences, my
mentality has shifted from “save the planet” to “use engineering to give people
access to their fundamental needs”. I’m
not exactly sure what that is going to look like long term… but I’m not too
worried about it. I’ll go through whatever door God opens for me.
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