I have served as an Engineering Ambassador for the University of Idaho College of Engineering for the last three years. In this role, I work to represent the college at a variety of recruiting and promotional events, including new student weekends, K-12 student outreach, and alumni/donor interactions. These events range from tabling, working demonstrations (my personal favorite is Elephant Toothpaste), to one-on-one conversations with potential future students. Many of my most valuable professional collegiate experiences have included interactions with donors and industry professionals to learn relevant engineering skills and perspectives. Networking as a result of this position will continue to serve me well in subsequent years.
The Ambassador team forms a strong bond over the course of the Academic Year through a leadership retreat, weekly meetings, monthly activities, and many hours spent on the road together traveling throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Invent Idaho is the premier invention convention for K-12 youth in the state of Idaho. As a state finals judge, I served to assess student's overall invention quality, feasibility, and relevance in modern society. Interacting with the next generation of scientists and engineers in Idaho has helped me to develop a passion for passing on my love of STEM to the next generation. In this role, I had the privilege of providing input to the state finals winners and help them prepare for the National Invention Convention.
I believe that the Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GCSP) offers invaluable, unparalleled opportunities for success for College of Engineering students at the University of Idaho. My phenomenal experience with this program lead me to become an officer for the student branch of GCSP. My role as Treasurer was to have consistent oversight of the student associated expenditure, as well as participating in the Engineering Grand Challenges Leadership Class (ENGR 401) throughout Fall 2019 (including providing feedback and helping enhance the course curriculum through lesson planning). As an Officer for the club, I was committed to recruiting new members for GCSP and mentoring them throughout their program experience.
I was an active member of RHA through 2019 as a Community Representative, where I served to represent the students in my section of the residence hall. Further, at weekly meetings I helped plan numerous events, manage our budget, and be a productive member of a team. Perhaps most importantly, I gained a better understanding of the needs of my Residence Hall Community. This has been a great introduction to societal awareness, a critical skill for any engineer.