I find public service incredibly rewarding -- just showing compassion makes a big difference. So, since 2003, I've been working on national committees of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to improve the mechanical engineering experience for students, making engineering more approachable, fostering leadership opportunities for students, and providing support programs and activities that allow students to practice engineering in a fun way. I also got involved in hurricane relief reconstruction in rural Louisiana -- it was a good way to use my free time to make a positive impact for others in a way that I would enjoy, too.

Working with ASME I pioneered a new structure for student involvement in the organization, helping to launch it worldwide in 2008 -- I co-authored a $30,000 grant that allowed me to run a leadership training track at a conference for 35 students from 10 countries. I also thought that, to make engineering more appealing, it needed to be more fun, so I started the ASME Jack-O-Launcher competition, a pumpkin-launching competition for engineering students at the University of Rochester, where I was an undergrad. The competition is in its seventh year.

In addition to my ASME work, I'm the president-elect of the U-M Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), which promotes research into human characteristics that apply to the design of systems and devices of all kinds. I've also been the membership chair, responsible for organizing social events, and talks at a local ergonomics consulting company. My objective is to encourage students to get involved in the HFES. I've also taken a position on the HFES society’s National Ergonomics Month committee, and I'll be helping to maintain content on the website for ergonomics events nationwide. The ErgOlympics is a new event that provides a fun set of games which outline the importance of physical and cognitive ergonomics -- with HFES I was able to help out during the event.

The hurricane relief and reconstruction during the last spring break was incredibly rewarding. A dozen students from U-M, Eastern Michigan University and a couple of other schools went to Dulac, Louisiana, a rural town with residents who are largely poor Houma Native Americans, other poor folks who work on shrimp and crawfish boats, and New Orleans residents who have reinforced weekend homes. Homes that weren't reinforced and didn't stand on 10-foot concrete stilts were badly damaged by hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Our group worked to repair several homes. The students and I insulated the exterior walls, replaced all of the interior living room walls and rewired the electrical fixtures while another group did the same in the bedrooms. It was an incredibly moving experience to make such a difference to a family.

Through the Iglesia Education Center in Rochester, New York, I spent a summer as the director of an engineering summer program for underprivileged kids. I moved to China and taught English to 500 high-school students in Beijing. Then, back in Michigan, I joined the Tauber Institute for Global Operations and received leadership and operations training before interning at Intel, where I worked on human factors and ergonomics issues in a healthcare product. Now I'm interning for the FDA, helping to make medical devices safer. I'm a student who thrives with a busy schedule -- if I'm not busy, I won't get anything done.

Public service exposes us to new and different ways of thinking, people and backgrounds. It increases our sense of connection with our community and other communities. It allows us to use our skills to make the world a better place.