Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW)

Yesterday evening was the NU Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) kick-off meeting. I love the fall, and a significant reason for that is the fall ESW kick-off meeting. Excited freshman and excited new leaders come together to share project achievements, future plans, and a rocking enthusiasm for sustainability. It always puts me in a good mood.

This year was a little different for me because:

A) I wasn’t working a booth. I guess it wasn't so bad because I got to observe everyone. Also, I managed to find my way behind the Portobelo booth to talk to some newbies. I even succeed in getting people to sign up, which probably invalidates my entire point.

B) A lot of people were surprised to see I was still around. They knew I graduated and didn't realize I was sticking around for my master's. I just hope people were happy to see me. I missed them.

C) There was Pita Inn and ice cream instead of Jimmy John’s. Three words: THANK YOU SASHA (President of ESW-NU).

You can feel the passion oozing from these pictures.

I'm going to shamelessly plug ESW in this blog post. When I came to Northwestern freshman year, ESW is what inspired me to become an engineer (better luck next time, poli-sci). It's because ESW is so great. Our projects provide a way for all students, not just engineers, to make the world more sustainable. The organization is completely student run, and all projects have dedicated leaders. If you want to start a project, all you need to do is take initiative. The same goes for if you want to join a project.  Our funding comes mostly from the grants, so if you think you have a cool idea, all you have to do is write a grant proposal and see if someone else agrees with you. Not only can you build some wicked team, leadership, and writing skills, but you can also help a lot of people, making some pretty great friends/contacts along the way.

I'm amazed by how much we've accomplished here and around the world. We've worked to:

• improve a water treatment system in Portobelo, Panama to reduce water contamination
• install solar panels and electrify homes in Chagres, Panama
• lead alternative energy and energy efficiency projects on campus
• build cheap, simple, and sustainable biogas digesters and wind turbines in Nicaragua
• teach children (here and abroad) about sustainability and global health
• design a solar powered shuttle stop
• and so much more...

If you want to support our organization, you can join our chapter, ESW-NU, join ESW national, sponsor us, and/or donate to our projects. If you know of a community in need, please shoot me an email and maybe we can get something started.