Hello everyone, I am excited to announce that after a wonderful 5 years under Engineers Without Borders Canada, the Engineers of Tomorrow venture is now an independent nationally-incorporated not-for-profit organization!
We are grateful for the opportunity to receive the opportunity to grow, learn, serve, and make a difference under EWB, and will remain active and enthusiastic supporters of their work. My classmate and former Science Quest colleague Rebecca (or Becky as I call her!) White and I will continue to work together on the strategic outreach work we’ve done to date, shaping the future of the engineering profession and related fields. We’ll be updating the Engineers of Tomorrow website with all our latest news and project soon!
A life-changing journey, an exciting new chapter — and some thank yous
As I sit here at the end of September 2018, a nice tidy 5 years after the venture was officially established under EWB in Sept 2013, I reflect on the opportunities that this entire project created for me. It shaped me, humbled me, connected me, grounded me. I am intensely grateful to all those who took the time to be gentle (and sometimes not so gentle!) in challenging the good-hearted, well-intentioned but often privileged and incomplete perspective that I brought to complex problem-solving. It was the education I didn’t know I needed, and the community I didn’t know I was looking for. With your indulgence I’d like to thank a few people whose contributions and support stand out:
The mentorship I received from Sal Alajek (then the Portfolio Manager at EWB Canada, now a Project Manager at WSP) truly changed my life and the way I see myself. I learned that I can, and did, resonate with people and lead them. I could inspire not necessarily by having the cleverest take in the room, but by showing up and sharing my experiences, offering encouragement and an idea for the way things could be. The version of myself I saw through Sal’s eyes, and through many other enthusiastic EWBers, got me thinking on a whole other level about the legacy I want to leave behind. Sal especially saw things in me that I think I had forgotten about, and I am so thankful for the time he took (and takes to this day! We are meeting him for lunch next week to celebrate) to shine a light on them. Sal, I hope I have done right by the example you set for me. I always feel like I have more to learn from you and I hope we can collaborate again someday, and support each other always!
Shortly after the venture was established, in early 2014, Sal introduced me to UOIT EWB chapter alum Alan Ham, who helped out on the National Engineering Month website and some of the other million tasks I was struggling to handle all by myself. He stepped in and got things done, eventually becoming indispensable as the first full-time venture team member. He was an amazing brainstorming partner with deep insights and a broad network of student leaders. He was also the first person to ever make me feel old, with his technology wizardry, astute political observations, and slang I didn’t understand! Most amazingly Alan held the fort down while I went offline completely in mid to late 2015, stepping up to be Acting Venture Lead while I coped with the rush of first-time-parenting. Alan, your hard work and contributions to the venture will always be remembered, and a part of EoT’s story. I wouldn’t have made it this far without you, and EoT would not exist without your part in its history. Thank you.
We had so many brilliant students with us for one term each and by that point we were a bit more organized and got them working on ‘Innovation Projects’: Yale Wang, Jonathan LaRochelle, Jonathan Lazo, Skylar Broeren all contributed cool ideas, putting their hearts and personal stories into the work. We were pleasantly surprised to hear how powerful an effect the EoT work had on the engineering students: their own confidence and sense of purpose and investment in the future of the engineering profession during their time with us. A positive effect we did not intend or expect, but of which we are super proud nonetheless. Jonathans and Skylar, we hope you keep that confidence always, and soar above the challenges you’re up against now to stay in engineering and change things from within. We can’t wait to hear your updated engineering stories. Yale, thanks for providing a non-engineering position and teaching us so much as our first EWB JF from the University of Waterloo chapter!
Then there were the two brave individuals who decided that one term working for EoT was not enough — they each came back for a second work term with us by their own choice. With key learnings under their belt they both stepped up to take on leadership roles within the EoT team and make tremendous contributions. Vanessa Raponi, you tamed the administrative beast that was the EIR program, and made it work for us! We watched you struggle then succeed with every challenge you had in front of you, and interact so generously and thoughtfully with the changes we were working together to create. We loved watching you become a supervisor, unlocking the talents of others, and running with new ideas with increasing confidence and poise. We loved watching you solidify in your identity as an aspiring engineer; you did exactly what I hope so many other students will do. You made a choice to plant your flag in engineering, and to decide that not only do you belong, but you’re staying and making it better. You are a living encapsulation of the change we want to see! I’m also personally grateful for your efforts to help get me out from under some of my limitations, and for selecting me for the honour of giving you that little ring. Thanks too for the ways you model courage and grace in your EngiQueers work, picked up the slack on the Diversity Initiative, and jumped up in a hundred ways to make EoT (and ELC) the best it could be. You’ve already taught me so much and you’re just getting started. Shivangna Kaistha, you were an absolute dream to collaborate with, and we were lucky to have you on our team. You brought your business smarts and your yoga heart to the change work. You showed up with so much kindness and determination, and kept the venture on track at a particularly important transition. We could always count on you to be sunny, positive and no-nonsense; the way you rolled with change and uncertainty was truly impressive and appreciated. The fact that one of your favourite memories was the NEM packing party really says it all! Your boundless energy and optimism were true assets no matter what we were working on. Your Innovation project seeded one of the most important offerings our organization has, and its value and viability has proven out over and over in the work we’ve done on it since you left. Thanks for lending us your entrepreneurial creativity and putting your EoT-esque story-telling skills to work for your fabulously thoughtful and entertaining valedictory address for the University of Waterloo Class of 2017. We loved it and we think you’re amazing. We’re encouraged and inspired by the way you’re showing up in your work now, and we are keen to stay in touch to see what you do next.
Along the way Zoey Gould and Carrie Boyce also jumped on board the EoT train to keep things organized, connect new ideas, and get things done. It takes many hands to make an impact like EoT’s happen, and it’s not all fun and games and drawing pretty pictures on white boards. Thank you for showing up to do even the hard, repetitive, and heavy stuff. You both showed heart and determination and we’re glad you came. Loreta Chan and Eleane Paguaga are contributing to EoT to this day, volunteering their time to help out remotely. We are so glad to be the recipients of your youthful energy and change-making spirit.
Becky White, as the new CEO of the new Engineers of Tomorrow, congratulations! You’ve taken the first of many big bold steps and I am proud and excited to be by your side every step.
Finally I would like to thank Boris Martin (CEO of Engineers without Borders Canada) for taking a chance on me. When we met in early 2013, Boris was the VP of Strategy and Investment of EWB and I was a newly-minted entrepreneur looking to add some purpose and meaning to my projects. He saw an opportunity to accomplish something cool together, leveraging my personal footprint in the engineering profession and the foot-in-the-door that EWB had. George Roter (then CEO of EWB, now Head of Core Contributors, Participation at Mozilla) made key introductions for me, and shared some of his candid observations about the changes we were working toward together. He co-founded EWB back in 2000 and created conditions, ssytems and a culture set on challenging the status quo, and spark new change ventures and innovations. The rest, as they say, is history!
We stood on EWB’s shoulders for a time and we have already started to see others standing on ours. It’s time to turn the page and welcome this exciting new chapter. Here we go…