Civil Engineering a Personal Statement Essay Example

The first inspiration for me to be an engineer came from my father, an electrical engineer. As a child, I was always very much inspired by his professional works and activities. Growing up, I was amazed by various engineering works, from massive construction to playing with electric gadgets.

Although I wasn’t sure which engineering discipline I liked to pursue then, as I grew up, my goals were developed more specifically from my passion for becoming an engineering professional. Scoring a GPA of 5.00 out of 5.00 in both secondary and higher secondary exams was two benchmarks for me. It boosted my confidence to a higher level.

After my higher secondary examination, I got admitted to the Military Institute of Science and Technology, a renowned institute in Bangladesh famous for its academic excellence and disciplined environment. Only the best students got the opportunity to study here after a highly competitive admission test and rigorous screening process.

This was a junction for my career where I had to choose which engineering discipline I wanted to pursue. After analyzing the prospects and scopes of all plausible directions, I decided on civil engineering. The reason for selecting civil engineering was because it has multidimensional academic edges, from structural, environmental, transportation, water resource, and geotechnical, and diverse work and career prospects both in-home and abroad.

During my undergraduate studies, I got ample opportunity to develop my skills in various academic courses. I was always interested in exploring the use of engineering techniques to solve practical problems rather than strictly following theoretical knowledge.

The undergraduate curriculum of the Civil Engineering Department of MIST introduced me to a wide range of subjects both in and outside the field. Various courses on environmental, water resources, structural, transportation, and geotechnical engineering have prepared me with a strong foothold in both theoretical and practical concepts of engineering applications.

I followed the new technologies and latest research in civil engineering by reading various scientific journals and papers. Beyond the academic activities, I participated in various extracurricular activities like debate competitions and civil engineering software competitions with great passion. I also gained multiple prizes and awards.

During my third year of undergraduate study, I was amazed to discover how various engineering techniques can be used for future sustainability and natural resource management challenges, primarily environmental and water resource engineering. A breakthrough for my career was becoming one of the 14 champions of International Climate champions of the British Council, where I had the scope to judge my skills by working in the field of environment and climate change both at national and global levels.

I planned and implemented my project on an adaptation option to climate change, which was a floating house. I worked alone in Khepupara, a remote location in the coastal area of Bangladesh, and built a floating house using indigenous materials. A significant anticipated impact of climate change will be the rise of sea level, and the low-lying coastal zone of Bangladesh will be inundated. And I aimed to demonstrate how engineering knowledge amalgamated with indigenous techniques can be used for affordable adaptation tools, in this case, the floating house for sea level rise.

My project demonstrated a sign of engineering innovation and applicability. Also, being a climate champion allowed me to continue learning and development through interaction and knowledge sharing with various people and specialists in the environment and climate change from home and abroad.

This experience paid rich dividends for me and helped me choose specific fields from the major civil engineering divisions. During my final year, I performed my undergraduate thesis on the impact of climate change on the salinization process in the coastal zone of Bangladesh. My research skills and academic knowledge of climate change during the theory were further reinforced.

Thus, the combination of working at the field level and performing research work on the environment and climate change boosted my confidence to a higher level. Currently, I am working as a professional at the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), a national center of excellence in Bangladesh. It is one of the best research organizations in our country’s water, climate, and environment sector.

I served in the Climate Change Study Division. I got the opportunity to work on various research projects at the national and international levels. I worked with different mathematical models, including surface water model, irrigation and drainage model, crop yield model for predicting climate change impact on drought, hydrological model, and other tools such as GIS.

Besides the office’s research, I am also engaged in several independent research works. I have several publications in national and international conferences and peer-reviewed journals. Also, I am actively involved in several youth networks and groups related to climate and the environment. I feel that my higher study will be the most convenient extension of my academic pursuits and a significant step toward achieving my professional aspiration.

In my country Bangladesh, the low-lying floodplain surrounded by numerous rivers will be the worst victim of the probable impact of climate change. In this regard, the government needs more technical assistance and resource for policy making and decision support, and young professionals with a higher level of knowledge can serve the country for this purpose.

I would like to apply my knowledge for the betterment of the poor people of Bangladesh, who are highly vulnerable and exposed to various disasters due to climate change. I sincerely believe that it would be a colossal step toward fulfilling my dream and professional ambition.