Silver Lining Reflection, 4 years later

A little under 4 years ago, I was scrolling through my emails and stumbled upon an opportunity of a life time. It was the IRES Summer Internship program directed by Dr. Yazdani at UT Arlington. At that time in my life, I was struggling to stay focused on the end goal of graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering at the end of 2014. It was a time of sorrow as my family was going through the unexpected loss of one of our own. The email that was soliciting applications to travel to Spain that summer as an intern was a silver lining that day. I quickly shared the opportunity with my sister and she encouraged me to apply. I have to admit I was plagued with negative thoughts that made me feel that I had very little chances of being selected as a participant. I felt I did not have the right experience level or that I was not the adequate candidate. However, there must have been a little glimmer of hope that pushed me to submit the application regardless.
A few weeks later I received the invitation to interview with Dr. Yazdani and that's when it all became like a very real possibility.
Fast forward to July 4, 2014 and my parents were dropping me off at the airport to set out to Valencia, Spain with the other UT Arlington participants Kavitha and Kelsey.
The next six weeks, as you can read about in my previous blog posts, were an experience I will never forget.  From learning about Spanish infrastructure and experimenting with cutting edge repair technology, to meeting mentors like Jose Vicente and Ana that shared a piece of their daily life with us, to the beaches, the food, the beautiful cities, it was all a rich and beautiful learning experience.
Upon my return to the US I felt a new energy. It was a feeling of appreciation for my home, my country and the opportunity that I had been given. It was also a resolve to move forward toward my goals and live a life I would be proud to live. As well as the new hope to one day continue traveling the world. That snippet of time in Valencia inspired me to continue taking advantage of opportunities no matter how unlikely they may seem. In addition, it sparked a desire to travel the world and keep an open mind to the different ideas people have as they engineer their cities and thus, the life around them.