Engineering Final by Robert

Engineering Final by Robert - February 2025 Scholarship Essay

I am standing outside in the blistering heat, stressing about how I could finish this bench project in time and make it better than everyone else’s. We’re two days into this project and have just completed the measurements. I am losing my mind with only three days left to build a convertible bench. I have four teammates which would normally be a good thing, but one of them doesn't care and the other one only has book smarts and has zero experience with building. I have to trust that I can finish this bench in time with the help of the
only teammate that knows what they're doing.
In my junior year of high school, I took a civil engineering class and in the final project, we were expected to complete a structure that was hand-picked by the teacher. The final project was to build a picnic table that would convert into two benches. This project filled me with more angst than I have ever experienced in a class. The project itself wasn’t extremely difficult, but the variable that turned it into a struggle was having two out of four partners who didn't care about the project. What made this project even more difficult was that we had to do it outside in 90-degree weather. Making the measurements and cuts for the wood took an entire day to complete due to other groups having the same needs as us. I was completely devoid of energy the next day, which made sense considering I stayed up all night stressing about the project. Completing the bench was no easy task, the most difficult part was making sure that the hinges were perfectly lined up. The worst part about the project was the sawdust from cutting wood; by the end of each day, I would leave with my lungs feeling like the Sahara desert. Once we finished constructing the bench, I then had to paint it, by myself, which was extremely stressful considering that it was my first time painting anything. We were able to finish everything on the last day and recieved 3rd place.
I learned a lot of things from that experience and it has helped me grow as a person. I took on more than I should have. I got angrier than I should have. And we came in 3rd place because of it. We did good. I’m proud of the work I did; however, if I was given the chance to do that project again, you best believe that I would do a million times better than my first attempt. The first thing I would do is assess my teammates' abilities and get a good understanding of what they are and aren’t capable of accomplishing in the short period that we have. I’m going to have so many more team projects in the future. Relationships. And they’re not all going to be with my best friends. Different personalities. Different skill sets. instead of judging & isolating myself from the team, I could be a leader within the team. I have way more self-control and patience now than I did then. I have grown so much since then and I truly believe that I can do so much more now than I was ever capable of doing in the past. Instead of getting pissed at my teammates and stressing them and myself out, I make a joke about it and help try to calm them down when big mistakes are made because that takes more time away from the project. I find that making the best of a shitty situation helps encourage the people around you to do better and not think too much about the scary parts of their situation. I have so many regrets from that experience, but most importantly I wouldn’t change a single thing because without it I wouldn’t be the person that I am today.