OKWI

The world is forever growing and evolving, as is the demand for new buildings and good infrastructure.

The pressures of population growth and global warming are ever increasing, and civil engineers can help play a major role in designing more efficient structures, as well as planning projects in developing countries. I am attracted to me to civil engineering because I like the idea of helping to shape the world around me to meet the demands of the future.

I hope for a challenging career which I will find personally rewarding and be able to feel that I have given something back to the community.

Academically, physics and computing aided programs have always been my main interest because of there practicality. I enjoyed Auto CAD in particular sketching and learning about dimensions of structures to detail and how to make them more stable whilst maintaining their beauty. I enjoyed the problem solving involved within my subjects and the way a real life situation could be expressed and manipulated mathematically.

What I found particularly interesting was relating what had been learnt in the classroom to real life situations, which is what gave me more interest in civil engineering – the appeal of a challenging career where I would have the opportunity to theoretically solve problems and practically apply solutions to have a beneficial effect on the world around me. Though much of the building work I have undertaken was in construction, I found it to be invaluable experience.

For example, in my youngest years I’ve grown up around construction sites. Due to financial constraints my father could not finish the house we lived in so we worked together to build in phases till completion. I also discovered the importance of keeping costs low, but the quality of work high. The most rewarding part of this experience seeing the project through from a plan on paper to its completion, and the feeling of satisfaction once it was completely built.This helped me fully understand the importance of good design and planning by having to interpret the designs as well as the various materials used.

From this experience I learnt the importance of planning, working as part of a team and meeting deadlines. Also, I gained an understanding of just how much preparation and organisation is needed, even for a small development.

Having studied civil engineering I hope for both a challenging and diverse career where I can help improve the world for future generations to come.