Defining Moments
There are moments in life that define who you are. My first moment was on top of a mountain of trash near Tegucigalpa (Tegus) in Honduras. I was there with a team of engineering hopefuls to improve waste management for several communities in the area, including Tegucigalpa. This site was home to more than 300 “pickers” and their families whose single source of income came from salvaging plastic and metal from trash brought there from Tegus. Their homes rested on an area of the landfill no longer used, and they frequently burned trash to extract the metals. Through the haze of smoke and stench of trash, a moment of clarity — using my skills to improve the lives of others is a huge part of my purpose, both personally and professionally.
Since then, it’s been my mission to create and pursue opportunities to improve the lives of others through sustainable engineering. By occupation, I’m a water resources engineer at Arcadis, the leading global Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets, where I help public and private clients Improve Quality of Life in cities and communities throughout the world. In my free time, I am an active volunteer with Engineers Without Borders (EWB). This summer, I led the University of Florida EWB chapter to Maras, Peru where we assessed the local community’s water infrastructure to help them implement community-centered projects that improve their local water supply and sanitation. I feel fortunate to live my passion every day.
Which leads me to right now, another life defining moment. In 7 days, I will be boarding a flight to Denmark bound to participate in the UNLEASH Innovation Lab. UNLEASH is an organization with partners worldwide, including Microsoft, Carlsberg, and the United Nations Development Programme. The objective is to foster intense collaboration between entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, technical experts, and academics to develop solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Together with many others (including Mel Butcher, a close friend and Arcadian) I will be focusing on the water theme. The event will fuse together cultures, experiences, perspectives, ideas and expertise, to develop solutions for achieving the SDGs by 2030, which could ultimately improve quality of life for millions around the world.
I invite you to follow my journey on LinkedIn over the next 3 weeks, and encourage you to interact with me because I want to know about your defining moments. Talk soon!
