Cara Karter, Social and Economic Development Policy ’16, will be interning at the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago this summer. In a recent blog post, she discusses her experience with the Illinois Tech Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and what she has learned through her involvement with the organization on campus. She attributes her experience with EWB as having led indirectly to every job and internship she has held since starting at Illinois Tech.
When asked about her experience she said, “I think everyone should take advantage of the organizations and experiences available on campus. There is no better way to learn than by stepping up and taking on a role that will challenge you. These experiences have helped me answer those difficult interview questions like, ‘Talk about a time when you had a disagreement with a coworker.’ or ‘Name a time when you failed’. Those are so much easier to answer when you have consistently had the opportunity to do something that scared you – and student organizations are available to give you those opportunities.”
originally posted here: http://www.carakarter.com/?p=127
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What I learned about Project Management from Engineers Without Borders
Cara Karter, Social and Economic Development Policy ’16, will be interning at the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago this summer. In a recent blog post, she discusses her experience with the Illinois Tech Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and what she has learned through her involvement with the organization on campus. She attributes her experience with EWB as having led indirectly to every job and internship she has held since starting at Illinois Tech.
When asked about her experience she said, “I think everyone should take advantage of the organizations and experiences available on campus. There is no better way to learn than by stepping up and taking on a role that will challenge you. These experiences have helped me answer those difficult interview questions like, ‘Talk about a time when you had a disagreement with a coworker.’ or ‘Name a time when you failed’. Those are so much easier to answer when you have consistently had the opportunity to do something that scared you – and student organizations are available to give you those opportunities.”
originally posted here: http://www.carakarter.com/?p=127
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What I learned about Project Management from Engineers Without Borders
For the past 3 years I have spent at least 5 hours a week as a dedicated member of the Illinois Tech Engineers Without Borders chapter. During my first year I worked mainly on fundraising for and designing of a solar-heated cold-climate greenhouse for a local charter high school in Chicago (read more here: http://greenhousedesignbuild.blogspot.com/). During that time I also become our chapter’s Fundraising Chair and subsequently our chapter’s Secretary. I also travelled to San Claudio, Nicaragua during my second semester and designed my first (very flawed!) household survey. I was learning SO MUCH that first year from being a part of the chapter and I began dedicating more and more of my time and energy to the projects in Nicaragua.
During my Sophomore and Junior years I took on the role of Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Lead, which led me to present at conferences about survey design and maintaining successful partnerships in-country. This past year, I continued my involvement in my role as the Director of our projects in Nicaragua.
As Director of Projects I managed two International Development projects in the community of San Claudio, Nicaragua: a vehicular bridge project and a latrine project. That meant 3 meetings each week, countless phone calls with our in-country partners, planning an assessment trip for 8 team members, and coordinating all other aspects of large scale projects (team-building, task management, fundraising, partnerships…) This experience was really DIFFICULT but also incredibly REWARDING and has led indirectly to every internship or job I have held in college.
The following are just some of things I learned about Project Management during my time as Director of Projects: