Industrial and systems engineering students embody ‘Create for Good’ by developing assistive technology for local children with disabilities

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I'm the captain of the design and structural analysis team on the concrete canoe team. We design, build, and race a canoe made entirely from concrete and reinforcement.

I expected the project to unfold as bookwork. I was wrong. The concrete canoe helped me learn that bookwork doesn't directly coincide with the real world – the design process is iterative and full of pitfalls, and adversity becomes a familiar feeling.

During preliminary design, the team encountered a massive complication. The simple shapes used in the past to design the canoe – lines, parabolas, and circular curves – were incapable of mathematically describing the complex curves our design required.

So, we used Bezier curves in the XY and YZ planes, allowing us the degrees of freedom required to accurately model the canoe mathematically. Without this massive leap forward in design, we never could have produced an accurate analysis of stresses, or an accurate mold from which to construct an ideal canoe.

I now pride myself on being able to approach problems from as many different points of view as possible. For example, creating more sustainable design and construction processes is vital to the success of the concrete canoe. Recycling materials from year to year, using recycled materials in the concrete mix, and repurposing scraps from alternate projects allows the concrete canoe team to adhere to sustainable operations.

More sustainable construction is a massive component of creating for good. The methods learned and honed throughout these projects will behoove us in the future as we strive toward creating more efficient designs to better tomorrow.

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I've been the event coordinator for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and now am an active member helping raise awareness and bridge gaps for female engineers in a male-dominated field.

SWE has made me more aware of how few female engineers there actually are, and the importance of female retention in STEM fields. I've also learned how important it is to take what makes you different and use it to your advantage – you might be the only woman at the table, but make your presence known and respected.

Communication skills are essential in this way. It might be easy to solve a problem, but it isn't easy to explain it so everyone understands. Effective communication skills can make or break any engineer.

I'm taking this knowledge with me as I start my career because I know that making a difference begins with taking a step forward toward change, and that's impossible when you just stay quiet on the sidelines.

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I currently serve as the finance chair of the National Society of Black Engineers, whose mission is to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.

At first, I wanted to take projects from others if they weren't meeting the standards I believe they should.

I had to realize that I, too, struggled in the beginning. Those experiences made me the successful treasurer I was last year.

This year, to find the most cost effective items for our budget, I had to communicate with outside sources, as well as members within the organization to give frequent updates. This increased my transparency as well as communication in the real world, and transferred to my internships and coursework. Communication skills are important for engineers and technologists because they provide the ability to communicate opinions or thought processes effectively.

I've also learned networking is key to success. You never know the benefits of networking until it happens, and you may not even realize because it may come naturally to you. It can open doors to so many opportunities.

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I served as the 2017 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Great Lakes Regional Conference coordinator. Working on a team of twelve friends to plan this event was an invaluable lesson in leadership.

A great leader realizes that success will come from their team, not themselves alone. This conference wouldn't have been possible without extensive teamwork among students and faculty members – there was simply too much to plan for one person.

My favorite memory is from conference day. All of our planning was put to the test. No matter what challenges came up, all were solved in a calm and timely manner because of how smoothly our team worked together.

It's up to the leader to understand their team members' preferences, work habits, and motivators, and set each person up for personal success. When team members all work hard on tasks they're good at and see themselves succeeding alongside their teammates, the team will stay motivated.

I learned that I find even more joy in enabling others to be creative than I do strictly pursuing my own ideas. The job of the leader is to enable that teamwork and motivation. Success will follow.

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My senior design project is to create a human-powered device that cleans debris off the Hock-Hocking Adena Bikeway, which runs from Athens to Nelsonville. I really had to get in the mind of a cyclist and think, "What about the current system annoys me? How can I make it easier to use while retaining effectiveness?"

You want the product to be a pleasure for the customer, so you interview cyclists and avid bike path users. You also have environmental and city/county requirements the product needs to meet, so you talk to facilities coordinators, parks and recreation directors, and bike path experts. The product has to be engineered to meet all customer specifications, so you talk to engineers at bike and trailer companies. It also can't be impossible to manufacture, so you work with the machine shop coordinators and technicians.

We created a schedule to divide and conquer certain areas of the project. When someone was struggling, and there was potential for us to miss a deadline, another person would come in and help until we caught up. Each person had to communicate where they were and trust each other.

This experience has been invaluable for me developing as a leader. With a large team of five, I had to learn to develop relationships and inspire confidence in my teammates and within myself, since we're all in it together. A good leader will take responsibility for what they've done whether it's a success or a failure.

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I'm president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and we organize the annual Student Professional Awareness Conference (SPAC) that provides students with an opportunity to meet individuals who have valuable advice for their careers and lives.

To get it all right takes a village. Because I have a great team, we were able to accomplish task after task.

I really do believe that surrounding yourself with kind, hardworking people makes all the difference.

When I think of creating for good, I think of actions that benefit the human condition, whether that's a cure for cancer or just positively affecting someone in the smallest way. My goal is to help give opportunities for my fellow students to grow in their lives and careers so that they can go on and do more to create for good.

As an Engineering Ambassador, I've learned how to connect with people who I've never met before, like prospective students and their parents. This is a really important networking skill. Everyone's motivated by something, and to connect with someone, you just have to find what that is. It's really one of the best feelings to see someone's eyes light up when you do. Those are the kind of moments when I know I'm following the "create for good" motto.