Submission Number: 501
Submission ID: 1646
Submission UUID: d2661110-6e92-41cc-9604-f88075fc72d9

Created: Sun, 03/30/2025 - 11:41
Completed: Sun, 03/30/2025 - 11:42
Changed: Sun, 04/20/2025 - 15:16

Remote IP address: 207.235.148.233
Submitted by:Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No

Flagged: Yes
Yes
Isabella
Dyer
She/Her
Garland
Texas
United States
75044
Electrical Engineering
English (5)
I have been fortunate enough to have had many vacations, a few of which took me outside the United States. With each new country we visited I got to experience new cultures and customs. One of the most lasting experiences I had was when my family and I went to Japan. The people there have an admirable dedication to their job and to their purpose, a value known there as ikigai. Despite the language barrier I felt that no matter where in Japan, the concept of ikigai was evident. It was evident in the careful way the sales lady bagged our items at the checkout. It was evident in the punctuality of their transportation system. And it was even evident in how clean and carefully manicured the streets of Tokyo were. This Japanese value helped cultivate a unique commitment to quality - total quality management. The ideas of kaizen, the iterative nature of improvement, and ikigai as well as the deep respect the people carry for each other are what helped W. Edwards Deming create TQM and allowed it to really take hold in Japan and why Japan continues to be a leader in quality. However, as successful as it is in Japan, Americans struggle to adopt and implement the principles of TQM because we are a society of nonconformists who value individual rights. Ideally concepts in business would respect the values of the culture in which it operates and create a system that utilizes the best that each culture has to offer.
A global perspective can give us a diverse viewpoint, and in problem solving, diversity is the key to coming up with the best solutions. As Maya Angelou said, "In diversity there is beauty and there is strength." Being able to travel internationally, I have seen this firsthand when my family took a trip to Japan. The feats the Japanese have accomplished both culturally and intellectually shone through as we were able to navigate their expansive public transit system, even though we were outsiders who were unfamiliar with the language or the country. We rode in a Shinkansen train (bullet train) which is overwhelmingly environmentally friendly as their CO2 emissions per person are one of the best ratios of any form of transit. Everything about their city planning and transportation is efficient. Even from a natural perspective this is proven through something called the slime model, a model of cities using oats that reflects the most efficient travel networks, and it found the Tokyo rail system remarkably similar to the paths that the mold grew. I believe our country and other developing countries in the world could benefit from similar urban designs as well as the commitment the Japanese government has to net zero carbon emissions. With better public transportation not only do carbon emissions decrease, but it increases access to the necessities that developing economies need such as jobs, grocery stores, and education. I believe if people are exposed to other cultures' perspectives and customs, our viewpoints can shift. Our ideas can become more creative. And we would all benefit from this diversity, both as people culturally and as a society functionally.
I want to be a member of the Global Engineering RAP at CU Boulder because I know how important it is to be a part of a community and how much more successful each individual is when working within a community. Swimming is an individual sport. No one can help once you jump from the blocks and into the water. It is you and only you until your hand touches the wall, and it’s your own times you aim to beat. This may be how it looks to the outsider, but that isn’t the reality of the community I’ve experienced these past four years as a simmer for my high school team. We cheer each other on from the swim deck, we encourage each other in the locker room, and we push each other during training. I know college will be a challenging time, and I would love to have a community of fellow engineering students cheering, encouraging and pushing me through college. I am ready to be a part of this engineering program. And I know that I can provide support to others in the Global Engineering RAP program because I’ve been doing so for the past four years in my swim community.

I know the importance of different perspectives and cultures in cultivation, creation, and innovation, and I can only benefit from experiencing other cultures. Especially in an engineering environment as this is where I want to make a difference. I know I can flourish in a community of people open to the influence of other cultures and perspectives in the name of global improvement and that is what I believe the Global Engineering RAP at CU Boulder is all about. I believe that everyone should walk a mile in someone else's shoes, especially those of us who are the future. As someone who is ambitious and tolerant I will take what I learn in this program and implement it wherever I go while also contributing my own ideals.