Describe yourself in a few words?
I’m Maya El Ajouz, a senior undergraduate student in civil engineering, specializing in water with a minor in urban studies.
Why did you choose civil engineering?
I started at UCI as a math major. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I really loved math. Getting experience from Engineers for a Sustainable World, I was interested in sustainability. I worked on a carbon footprint tracker project with the Engineers for a Sustainable World club on campus. I met engineering students from that club and was introduced to different disciplines of engineering. I decided on civil engineering because I’m a people-oriented person, and I care about how built infrastructure can affect our daily lives and our impact on the environment. From a sustainability standpoint, I wanted to design more equitable infrastructure suited for human needs.
How do you want to apply yourself to Civil Engineering in the future?
I want to do research in the future, which isn’t the traditional engineering path but I really like being on the forefront of finding solutions to the global environmental issues we face today. One of my dreams is to be a professor since I want to combine my passion for both research and teaching.
What is the greatest challenge you’ve faced, and how did you overcome it to be who you are today?
I struggled with self-identity at UCI and went through personal hardships, and it was hard to figure out what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. In my time in civil engineering I even contemplated switching to Physics to become a high school science teacher, but I overcame that by putting myself out there to figure out what I liked and what I didn’t like. I had a structural engineering internship and I found out that I didn’t like it. I joined Dr. Christopher Olivares’s research lab and realized that I really enjoyed it.
What is it like being an exchange student in Belize? Tell us about your trip and how UCI helped make it happen?
UCI helped a lot to make the trip happen, I wouldn’t have known about the trip or gotten scholarship opportunities unless I was at UCI. During a connecting flight, I sat next to an eleven year old boy and I talked with him and his mother. As we talked about my destination to Belize to do water sampling, he asked me if I was a scientist. I replied with “not yet”, but I hope to get there one day. The trip pushed me out of my comfort zone. I’d never been to central america before, and being out in an actual jungle collecting water samples let me be more comfortable with trying new things. It also allowed me to meet with other PhD students and Professor Shakira Hobbs. After the trip, she actually gave me a position to be a lab assistant under her guidance, and I’m planning on starting a research project with her this winter. I also had a chance to visit a Mayan temple, go snorkeling in a coral reef, and explore a Mayan cave in the middle of a rainforest. It felt like a movie, being able to have fun and experience so much.
Give advice to your past self.
Don’t be afraid to try new things and put yourself out there. The best way to learn is just by doing things, the fact of having no experience shouldn’t discourage you.
