-Gexsy

My name is Gexsy and I am a third year Mechanical Engineering/Material Science minor. I am a first-generation low-income college student who currently attends the University of California, Irvine.

I first got exposed to the idea of sustainability and nature in middle school through various outdoor education clubs and programs. That carried over into high school and now college. One may think that mechanical engineering may not have any part in sustainability; but there are a lot of ways to design and optimize our world with the help of nature. In a world that needs to be more sustainable, I hope to see how Costa Rica utilizes its natural resources and gain more perspective on how sustainability is handled in another country.

I have been a Resident Advisor for Student Housing for two years and throughout my experience, there has been a lot of emphasis on sustainability and educating residents about the topic. There is a growing concern and I love that I can do my part as an RA to shed some light on the subject. I am excited for the opportunity that has been presented to me and I cannot wait to see what Costa Rica has in store for me.

I want to pursue a career in the consumer products industry. Seeing that technology is an ever-growing part of our daily lives. I want to learn more about how to make the technology that we use in our everyday lives more sustainable. Through the Costa Rica program I hope to gain exposure to the sustainability practices that Costa Rica implements in their society. Specifically how they are implementing sustainability in their building materials and daily lives.