Find your inspiration; the world needs you.

This morning I listened to Shah Selbe’s talk “Find Your Niche, Help the World.” Selbe asked listeners to think about the many challenges that our world is facing and what we could do to help.

I have always been fueled by a passion to help others and create positive change in this world. Yet, I have also spent a great amount of time worrying which was the best path to do so. It wasn’t until I listened to Selbe’s talk that I realized opportunities exist everywhere.

As I thought deeper about the many problems that our world faces, I was inspired by Selbe’s own story. Selbe, whose background is in engineering, never limited himself by the choice of his career, but rather believed in the power of his career to make a difference. Driven by this belief, he volunteered for years with Engineers Without Borders, helping rural villages gain access to clean drinking water. Today, Selbe works with National Geographic on a number of conservation projects, including the Okavango Wilderness Project and SolarOcean where he is able to combine his background in engineering with his passion for conservation.

I was particularly moved by Selbe’s story of his time spent in the Okavango Delta, one of the richest wildlife areas on the planet. Selbe works as the project technologist with the Okavango Wilderness Project. He helps to figure out what technologies can be used to help monitor the delta. Selbe and the rest of the team have placed a number of sensors throughout different places in the Delta that send realtime information to the projects website. Unlike other expeditions, the Okavango Wilderness Project is an open source expedition and all of the information that is gathered is available through their API. This allows numerous brilliant minds to access the data and help to come together to save this beautiful resource.

As I look forward towards my career, I am inspired by Selbe’s words and story. I know now that opportunities exist everywhere, and it is in my power to seek out and take advantage of those opportunities. Fueled by my entrepreneurial spirit and own inspiration, I believe I will create positive change in this world.

I am currently a student in BDW’s 50 week program. Learn more about the BDW program.