We are pleased to be featuring our new students in the Grand Challenge program. Lujain Al Ali is our first student feature.
“I am an international student; I grew up in Kuwait. I chose to attend the University of Portland because it is a small school with small classes, and I can easily connect with my peers and professors. It has a strong engineering program and a beautiful campus. Also, my dad is a UP alumni from the 90’s, and my older brother also attends UP.
What made me most excited about the Grand Challenges program was that I could chose a modern-day challenge and come up with ways to improve, advance and develop that particular challenge during my academic career at UP. I also liked how part of the challenge encourages us to examine the challenge through a different lens — historical, ethical or even artistic – allowing me to address my challenge in a different way and at the same time get out of my comfort zone.
Providing access to clean water is the challenge I chose, for two reasons. The first — I am majoring in civil engineering, and water resources is a big part of civil engineering. Second, although clean water is easy to access in many places around the world, in some countries it is very difficult to get access to clean water. Water is a fundamental necessity. Millions of people die each year from diseases they catch from dirty water.
My goal for this project is to find a solution to a real-world problem, to make a difference in our world, to be involved in the community though services and programs, to look at issues and problems through diverse perspectives, including international perspectives, to learn more about my challenge through research, and, finally to benefit from interdisciplinary courses and work.
I am excited about all I learn in my next couple of years of school here at UP. I want to be prepared to apply all that knowledge to the real world when I go back home knowing that my country is going through a stage of structural development and advancement, and knowing that I would like to focus on the infrastructural branch of civil engineering.
My first day of school is my favorite moment from my time at UP. Everyone was so kind and welcoming, and I felt that I could fit in with everybody even though I was new to the US. The first couple of months living away from home were hard for me because of how different it is in the U.S. What surprised me the most about my UP journey was how open minded everybody was, and how so many resources were available to students.
Dr. Mark Kennedy interested me in joining the Grand Challenges Program. He explained the program and told me how it would benefit me and be a good addition to my resume as well as a good experience.”
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