Global Citizen Scholar
I am driven by my passionate beliefs in meaning, autonomy, and achievement. I pursue these passions by
utilizing my core strengths of responsibility, command, and strategy. I plan to live out these values through opportunities where I am developing and solving to achieve innovation and sustainability that impacts the environment and communities. To do so, I will seek opportunities to use design thinking and utilize change leadership. When I face challenges or obstacles along the way, I will remember to stay flexible and avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems.
In order to follow my global citizen scholarship mission, I will continue to further my education in
engineering at the University of Cincinnati, pushing myself to learn all that I possibly can that I can use to make a difference for the environment and communities around the world. In doing so, I can fulfill my desire for achievement and prepare myself for co-op rotations and employment after graduation. I will look for meaning elsewhere, such as by helping struggling communities through organizations like Engineers Without Borders UC, which organizes trips to Tanzania, Africa, to install piping for water, latrines, and other necessities for poor communities. This semester I helped plan for the installation of a pipeline that would transport water to a school and community in Roche, Tanzania, and at some point during my time at University of Cincinnati I would love to travel with the organization to participate in the installation directly. I will also look for meaning in developing sustainable systems that can benefit the environment, which I hope to do while on co-op by working for a company that has a focus on sustainable design. In doing so, I will have the opportunity to use design thinking to drive innovation. My strategic strength will be crucial in this type of situation because it allows me to think of alternatives that other people might see, which pushes the design process forward, since problems will almost certainly arise with the design and changes will have to be made to fix them. This strength also means can see patterns and issues in any scenario, which will make me a valuable asset to teams, both in school and industry. To preserve my autonomy, I will continue to pursue my passion for equestrian sports and deepen my bond with my horse and other animals with which I have the chance to work, because the horse farm is the place where I feel most at home and can be myself, without feeling social or societal pressures. I can be truly independent. I will also push myself to bring this independence that I feel there into all facets of my life, because I am a more confident, happier person when I carry this feeling with me. I want to use change leadership to help shift how the country views the path we are traveling down with current environmental practices so that people understand the dangers that they face unless large-scale change in sustainability practices are implemented soon. In doing so, I hope to help preserve our world for generations to come, not just for humans but for all of the amazing organisms that live on this planet. I can do so by participating in events with UC Sustainability and by doing my co-op rotations with companies that focus on sustainable design. Utilizing change leadership uses my command strength, because I would need to take control of whatever situation the group is facing and make decisions to solve problems. This is what makes me a leader. In order to successfully complete all of these goals, I will need my strength of responsibility to balance all of the work I plan to take on and to take ownership for what I say I will do. Responsibility will also help me maintain the relationships with my friends and family that are deeply important to me even as my life gets more hectic as my workload continuously increases and I take on more duties. With a strength in responsibility, I am committed to honesty and loyalty, so I will do whatever is necessary to foster the relationships that I value even when I am busy. Along my path to success, I will certainly face numerous challenges and obstacles, but I need to remember not to let even the most difficult problems dampen my spirit, because I will make it through, even when it seems hopeless. There is no problem that I cannot solve, and knowing this, I can tackle anything the world decides to throw at me. I also need to remember to stay flexible. I can sometimes get panicked when something does not go to plan, but that never helps the situation; typically, it makes it worse. If I can stay flexible and recognize that unpredictability and change is a part of life. This will allow me to see the positive aspects of every situation, even if it seems difficult. If I follow this plan, I will be the global citizen scholar that the University Honors Program aims to develop, and a better person who has made a difference in this world.