My Answers to the KP Engineering Fellow (Intern) Application

Here are the answers I provided to a fellowship application for engineering internship. I needed to provide a link in the application so I thought it would be best to include in my blog.

What impact do you want to have on the world and why?

I believe education is key to furthering any advancements we want to see in climate change, healthcare reform, renewable energy, etc. I want to be able to help the next generation find their purpose through professional and personal mentorship. I currently provide mentorship to my alma mater, students at University of Hawaii at Manoa and at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). I provide guidance to diploma students studying 2-year diplomas in business, web development, support operations. I also provided guidance to new immigrants looking to find jobs here in Canada. It started in university when I worked as a part-time math tutor to supplement my student expenses. I enjoyed helping fellow students pass their courses through tutoring. I was able to network with many people and learned about their lives, one student at a time. Providing mentorship allows me to project my ideology about our world and at the same time learn from my mentee’s experiences. My domain is limited to technology and entrepreneurship but if I can move the needle one tiny bit by helping one person, my legacy would have been fulfilled. 

Describe your most meaningful experience(s) and why they matter to you.

I think my most meaning experience to date is being a father. My wife and I tried had many years together travelling and experiencing the world for many years. During this time, we tried fruitlessly to conceive and every year that passed we were losing hope of ever growing our family. Many fathers will probably relate to driving their baby home from the hospital for the first time. It is a surreal feeling having to look in the rear view mirror to see another life sitting in the back seat in a car which has seen only two occupants, i.e. me and my wife, for the longest time. Things changed at this point for me and have come to realize what others mean when they refer to living forever. Its about living through your children and passing your legacy on to them. It provided a more meaningful existence with this newborn baby now sitting in the backseat of my car. Prior to this, life was a blur and I was living day by day with little purpose. It made me realize that life is fleeting and that I need to make sure to do things to better the world for my newborn child. This definitely will make you sober up.