Before I get started talking about my experiences in Spain, I think it would be important to discuss why I wanted to go into this profession in the first place. Deciding to pursue a career in Civil Engineering propelled me to numerous unique experiences and the IRES program has been the best one yet!
So why Civil Engineering?
This question is daunting for any high school senior frantically searching for the career they will work with for the rest of their life. For me, I thought I had it all figured out. Ever since I was in 8th grade I was intrigued by the way materials and components came together to form these beautiful and unique structures. The idea of meticulously following a set of plans and having a structure come to life fascinated me and I couldn't wait to enter college and pursue my career in ....architecture.
I entered school in Fall of 2012 excited to become a renowned architect designing and building beautiful buildings and bridges for all to see. Being the person that could always make someones vision a reality by solving the giant jigsaw puzzle of an idea was going to be what I was going to do. The only problem was..this wasn't architecture. After one semester of going through art appreciation and a drawing class, I realized I made a critical mistake; architecture is not what I want to do.
It wasn't after performing more research that I found out that while architecture wasn't what I thought it would be, civil engineering was. Quickly, I switched my major and began to pursue my degree for a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering.
What motivated me?
There was plenty that motivated me to work towards an engineering degree. First of all, my strengths. All throughout grade school me and math were "best friends." While most people dreaded entering this foreign language, I completely loved it. Equations and calculations and the way the numbers worked so well with one another, I knew that whatever I did for the rest of my life had to involve math.
And the same goes with problem solving. I loved little puzzles and mind games because critical thinking was always an area that intrigued me. Second, was my family. My dad is an electrical engineer so having him always around and explaining what he did was really cool to me. Then my brother entered college my junior year of high school and began studying Mechanical Engineering. Having other family members also in this field made me realize one thing; maybe Engineering is just in my blood.
(Me and my sister at my brother's graduation).
What my contributions will be?
Like most everyone else, I hope that I can make significant contributions in the area of my profession. With Civil Engineering, I hope to focus on structures. After my experiences and internships I have held in the past, I really changed my perspective on what exactly I want to contribute. Initially I was in it for self fulfilling goals to design unique structures and challenge myself to solve complicated puzzles. It was very much so individualistic thinking. It wasn't until a few years in college that I realized how much an impact Civil Engineers have on society as a whole. Not only ensuring that the structures are safe, but also preventing certain disasters from happening.
Recently I have been fascinated by the idea of Forensic Engineering. Being presented with a structure that failed or faltered, it would be the engineer's job to investigate why and how it failed. After it would be to redesign and propose new idea to prevent the altercation from happening in the first place. This is where hazard mitigation comes in to place. Civil Engineers have the power to save lives just as much as a doctor or firefighter would.
I would love to say that by the end of my career, I have developed alternative design methods to help structures last longer and prevent certain disasters from damaging structures and thus improving the safety and well being of thousands of people from around the world.
How will Civil Engineering help me reach my goals?
As I stated in the previous paragraph, I want to be able to provide safety and stability to all types of structures. Civil Engineering will expose me to the proper education and knowledge to be able to accomplish this. One of my ultimate goals is also to live a happy life. This includes to love what you do for a living. Although I don't know exactly where I will end up, knowing that I have Civil Engineering will allow me to be happy for years to come.
You definitely have thought this through. I like how you started out on one career path, found it was not what you wanted, and then made the switch to engineering. With everything you said about the field, I think you will do well and will accomplish all of your goals. Best of luck to you!
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