Becoming a Grand Challenges Scholar

Gaining experience within the five competencies has allowed me to fulfill and surpass my GCSP goals of involving myself in research and collaborating with other engineers. In my talent competency, I was able to participate in the GCSP Research Stipend were I could complete sustainability-focused research under the direction of my research mentor, who was not in Fulton. In my multidiscipliary competency, I was able to collaborate with other engineers in FSE150 during our Future Solutions project, where I was able to work with engineers outside of my major for a sustainable solution to disaster relief. In my multicultural competency, while I did not engage in a rigorous academic research project I did complete independent research on the effects of AI services which I used in my environmental service project in GPH 210. In my social consciousness competency, I was able to collaborate with underclassmen engineers as a mentor where I fostered social sustainability for diversity in tech. Finally, in my entrepreneurship competency I collaborated with other engineers throughout the process of developing a venture through the engineering perspective, such as when we reviewed each others' pitch decks.

These GCSP experiences were very valuable in their contributions to my career and professional development. For example, after gaining research experience through the GCSP research stipend, I was able to talk about research during interviews which eventually got me offers for software engineering internships. I was also able to talk about my leadership and mentorship in interviews, which I gained concrete experience for in my social consciousness competency. Being able to reflect upon these experiences and communicate them to recruiters has been essential in my preparation to enter a career in industry.

While the experiences gained in the five competencies were different, they all shared a common theme of developing communication and presentation skills. Being able to convey technical/engineering principles to a diverse array of audiences was important within all competencies, whether the subject be about food or math or the environment. They were also all primarily connected through my theme of sustainability, covering its different applications within the environment, society, and business.