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Laura Colon Peña

5,865

Bold Points

22x

Nominee

3x

Finalist

Bio

Hello, my name is Laura Colon. I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. I've lived in Providence, Rhode Island, for the past seven years. I came to the United States without any basic knowledge of the language. For this reason, I had to repeat a grade, which at that moment made me feel like a failure. However, this setback allowed me to adapt to the US schooling system, learn English, prepare myself for high school, and explore career path interests. Although I still struggle to fit in, I have tried my best to overcome my imposter syndrome by believing in my abilities to achieve my goals. I am a second-year student at the University of Rhode Island pursuing a major in Civil Engineering and Spanish through the International Engineering Program. After my third year of undergrad, I will be studying abroad for a year in a Spanish-speaking country. With the assistance of this program, I will be able to expand my cultural awareness, meet people from all around the world, complete engineering and Spanish courses, and work for an international company as an intern for a whole semester. As a first-generation Latino student, I believe it is my duty to inspire future leaders through STEM. I plan to continue to be an example of integrity and perseverance to the younger generation and I hope you will support it too!

Education

University of Rhode Island

Bachelor's degree program
2020 - 2024
  • Majors:
    • Civil Engineering

University of Rhode Island

Bachelor's degree program
2020 - 2025
  • Majors:
    • Spanish Language and Literature

College Board Upward Bound Pgm

High School
2019 - 2020

Mount Pleasant High School

High School
2016 - 2020

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Master's degree program

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Civil Engineering
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Civil Engineering

    • Dream career goals:

      Engineer

    • Student Manager - supervise and train student employees.

      University of Rhode Island - Ram's Den
      2020 – 20222 years
    • Spanish Tutor

      College of Arts and Sciences URI - Language Department
      2022 – Present2 years
    • Operated lunch program sites, sports, water parks and pools for kids attending the summer camp.

      Providence Departments of Parks and Recreation
      2017 – 2017
    • Co-Captain (2018-2019) Captain (2019-2020)

      MP Robotics Team
      2018 – 20202 years

    Sports

    Dancing

    Present

    Research

    • Hispanic and Latin American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General

      Multilingualism & Second Language Acquisition Lab — Research Study Participant
      2020 – 2021
    • Chemistry, General

      Student
      2020 – 2020
    • Research Seminar

      Independent — Researcher
      2019 – 2019

    Arts

    • Mount Pleasant Band

      Band
      2016 – 2017

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Rhode Island Blood Center — Donor/Helper
      2018 – 2020
    • Advocacy

      MP Robotics+IBEW Local 99 — Partner
      2019 – 2020
    • Volunteering

      Rhode Island Robot Block Party — Volunteer Staff
      2018 – 2020
    • Volunteering

      Backpack Food Program — Helper
      2018 – 2020
    • Volunteering

      National Honor Society — Tutor
      2019 – 2020
    • Advocacy

      National Honor Society — Secretary
      2019 – 2020

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Volunteering

    Philanthropy

    Entrepreneurship