Discover Engineering

My Experience With Engineers Without Borders

Mina Shahid // 4th Year Mechanical Engineering // Jan 21, 2010

I started Skule Engineering in Sept. 2005, and during my first year of mechanical engineering I focused on succeeding academically. However, it was at the beginning of my second year of university I began to wonder what other experiences I could gain from Skule. That’s when I wandered into an Engineers Without Borders (EWB) member learning session where a recent overseas volunteer (Hans Hesse) was talking about his experiences while working in Malawi in Southern Africa.
What really struck me were the connections he made between studying Engineering Science, and working in international development, and the unique skill set that engineers had to offer in solving the most complex problem of our time- extreme poverty. It all made perfect sense to me and for the first time in my education I realized how important the problem solving skills gained at Skule were.

Soon thereafter I got involved with the EWB-UT chapter, organizing events and eventually becoming the VP Outreach in my third year of university. It was also then that I decided to apply for an overseas volunteer placement with EWB, and to test how my problem skills would hold up overseas. The experiences gained at Skule both academically, and socially I feel prepared me to succeed while overseas in Zambia during the summer of 2008. And as I worked to help Zambians work their way out of poverty, I couldn’t appreciate more these experiences.
I’m a firm believer that engineers have so much to offer to this world beyond their technical knowledge and if there was one piece of advice I’d give to incoming engineering students, it would be to get involved in extra-curricular activities. The opportunities for personal and professional growth are endless.