Over the summer coming into college I took a trip to Boundary Waters Canoe Area in between Minnesota and Canada. The trip was a total of 12 days, 10 of which were spent completely in the wilderness with only what we could carry on our backs. As an avid outdoors-man this trip was a dream come true and although I thrived out the the backwater, I still learned many new things and shared a few of my own skills. Although this trip wasn’t exactly “curricular” I think it clarified things about myself that are important to know for my personal success. One of the things I learned was resilience and endurance. Like many things, college (especially for an engineer) is not a quick or small endeavor but instead a journey that takes you along the ups and downs of life. It tests if you can successfully handle all your responsibilities and then teaches you to overcome and supersede the base requirements. Since the learning curve from surviving to thriving isn’t exactly an overnight process you need to be able to bounce back from misfortunes and learn from mistakes.
Me and several of my close friends signed up for, and competed in, the annual HES Design Challenge. In this event we were given various materials and supplies to build a mobile, cost-effective, and structurally sound homeless shelter. This event taught me to put myself in the place of those less fortunate in order to decide was was important for a home but also practical for someone with next to nothing. By combining my engineering knowledge with my camping experience I was able to give direction to my group and offer valuable insight to this hands on project.