Congratulations to the Class of 2022!

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Meet some of the remarkable scholars and volunteers from EWB-USA Chapters across the country, members of the class of 2022.

EWB-USA’s 220 Chapters across the U.S. give university students invaluable experiential learning opportunities every year. EWB-USA volunteer experience is a powerful complement to traditional engineering education and we can see that nowhere more clearly than in the graduating class of 2022.

“Volunteers are the beating heart of EWB, and we are extremely proud of the role we play in supporting the experience and education of the next generation of globally minded humanitarian engineers,” said Bill Oakes, EWB-USA board member.

“The daunting challenges and exciting opportunities of the next decade call for exceptional innovation and determination, and we see those qualities in the incredible individuals who supported our mission as volunteers and now are moving on to the next phase of their careers.”

Read on to meet a handful of the graduating students who played instrumental roles in their student EWB Chapters.

Lilliana Brandão – Harvard College SEAS Chapter

Most memorable experience with EWB-USA:

“Though I’ve never gotten the chance to travel on an EWB trip, our Chapter completed a remote implementation in Kenya last November, where we remotely managed the drilling of a borehole well. Because of the time difference, each night a member of our Chapter was on call in case our partners on the ground needed to contact us. One of the nights I got a call and had to talk to our partner about an issue. I had never expected to be working on an EWB implementation trip at 3 a.m. but it was so exciting to finally implement a well and be a part of that process.”

Volunteering with EWB-USA gave me the opportunity to…

“Connect with incredible people across the world and develop leadership skills that I will take with me throughout life.”

Plans after graduation:

“I will be traveling, spending time with family, and then moving to the Bay Area to start work and apply to graduate programs in the fall.”

(Lilliana is pictured with her chapter below, first row, fourth from the left)

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Nicholas Nocevski – Chapter: Miami University

Volunteering with EWB-USA gave me the opportunity to…

“Understand what it means to be a servant-leader. It helped make me into a better engineer and a better human at the same time.”

Plans after graduation:

“I am working with Ethicon on a design co-op rotation and pursuing a M.S of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering. Before that I am traveling to Macedonia to visit family for the first time in 10 years.”

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Cheikh Badiane – Howard University Student Chapter

Most memorable experience with EWB-USA:

“My most memorable moment would have to be when we completed our first deliverable for our garden bed project. To be able to see something that my team and I had worked on extensively come to be was an incredible feeling. Coupled with the joy on our clients’ faces, that was an experience I would not exchange for anything.”

Plans after graduation:

“I’ll be working with Cummins Inc. in Indiana as a Test Engineer.”

What are the skills that you learned or improved by volunteering with EWB-USA?

“I have served as the team lead for the raised garden bed project in southeast, D.C. Being the main student point of contact for this project, I’ve applied my knowledge and used skills acquired during my undergraduate studies to run weekly meetings, to coordinate design and implementation. This project is a collaboration between several Chapters and has required an intense amount of collaborative effort. I have also been able to serve as president, vice president and secretary of my university’s Chapter. In these roles, I had to collaborate extensively with my executive board. These roles were challenging and consisted of a plethora of learning.”

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Jenna Knudtson – University of Nebraska Student Chapter

Summary of volunteer experience with EWB-USA:

“I joined the Solar Team and became a co-lead as a freshman and have been a co-lead for four years. I traveled with the team to Madagascar in the Summer of 2019. I also went to the EWB National Conference in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, we are unable to travel back to Madagascar this summer, but I do have the opportunity to go with our other project team to Zambia. There I will help survey for the bridge project and assess the community for solar power.”

Most memorable experience with EWB-USA:

“My most memorable moment would probably be climbing Vatu-Vavy with the community members in Kianjavato on Ascension and having a little service at the top.”

What are the skills that you learned or improved by volunteering with EWB-USA?

“I learned a lot about mental toughness — most of the time you have to do something wrong many times before you finally figure it out and get it right. I also learned how to delegate tasks and play to people’s strengths.”

Volunteering with EWB-USA gave me the opportunity to…

“See the world differently.”

Plans after graduation:

“I am taking a “gap” year before going to grad school for Electrical Engineering. During the gap I’ll be working at a local power utility, Lincoln Electric System (LES).

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Matt Parsons – The Ohio State University Chapter (president)

Most memorable experience with EWB-USA:

“My most memorable moment volunteering for EWB was the kickoff event my Chapter had in August 2021. We were back in person for the first time in over a year and there was a lot of excitement for the event. In spring 2021, our Chapter had 40 members, so we reserved a 50-person room for the event. We would have never expected to have 120 people show up! Our 50-person room filled up and we had to split into two rooms, which still did not accommodate everyone. I ended up giving the presentation on the spot in the second room — and I loved it. The energy from the audience, our resiliency to adjust and make new plans, and presenting in front of 60 people. This event was important for me because I would’ve been terrified of presenting when I started my time in EWB. The event represented my growth and new confidence which I would attribute to my involvement in EWB.”

Volunteering with EWB-USA gave me the opportunity to…

“Meet my closest friends who I will be connected with forever.”

Plans after graduation:

“I will be attending Colorado School of Mines to earn a Master’s degree in Humanitarian Engineering and Science. EWB cultivated my passion for global development work, and I am planning on making it into my career.”

From left to right: Joe Kresic, Matt Parsons, Adrian Slovenec, and Emery Monnig

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Joe Kresic – The Ohio State University Chapter

Most memorable moment volunteering for EWB-USA:

“Having the opportunity to apply engineering knowledge to solve real-world humanitarian projects while meeting and sending time with friends of all different backgrounds and engineering disciplines.”

Volunteering with EWB-USA gave me the opportunity to:

“Positively affect the lives of people living in the Columbus, Ohio area as well as people across the world.”

Plans after graduation:

“I will be starting my full-time job with Navistar in their Operations Management Development Program.”

Fidel Martinez- San Diego State University Chapter

Most memorable moment volunteering for EWB-USA:

I’ve had many experiences being a part of EWB which I will cherish for years to come. I really enjoyed getting our club back on its feet this year and during my time in EWB I won’t forget the international conference held at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. I enjoyed learning about the great work other EWB Chapters were doing and meeting individuals from across the country.

Volunteering with EWB-USA gave me the opportunity to…

“Explore my leadership potential and be a catalyst for positive change in my community and beyond.”

Plans after graduation:

“I hope to travel around Mexico and Europe before embarking on my professional career journey.”

Lauren Maurer – Cal Poly SLO EWB- Local Projects team

Most memorable moment volunteering for EWB-USA:

Engaging with our community in person for the first time. Due to Covid, it took nearly two years for us to safely be able to travel to the site of our project. When we arrived, we were greeted by dozens of community members supporting the project and were able to see the gravity of the situation for the first time. Seeing the site firsthand and engaging with community members made the whole project more real and validated all the work we had put in for the past two years.

Volunteering with EWB-USA gave me the opportunity to…

Find my passion and apply my engineering skills in a meaningful way.

Plans after graduation:

I am attending the University of Colorado at Boulder to pursue my master’s degree in Global Environmental Engineering. I hope to pursue humanitarian engineering work in my future career and am grateful to EWB-USA for providing me an opportunity to find this passion and practice meaningful engineering work while in school.

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