I have been interested in a career in civil engineering since elementary school as I viewed it as a way to give back to my community and improve the lives of others around me. My first instance with civil engineering was learning more about my hometown Natomas. Natomas is a flood basin that is at risk of flooding with two major California rivers flowing in close proximity. In 2008 FEMA evaluated Natomas following the tragic Hurricane Katrina and determined that Natomas was not up to 100-year flood protection. This subpar evaluation led to a moratorium causing construction in Natomas to come to a halt. The idea of a flood intrigued me as it was unimaginable, it was difficult to grasp the idea of my community being the victim of a flood. This thought of an uncontrollable flood similar to Hurricane Katrina caused fear in me and I could not imagine what victims of a flood would feel. This fear turned to motivation as I learned about levees and floodplains and using STEM principles to control and manipulate nature to benefit communities. With the frequency of natural disasters increasing due to climate change more communities are put at risk and the importance of good engineering becomes more prevalent. I would like to use my degree to help those in need by assisting with emergency plans and mitigating the impacts of flooding. Flooding is often deadly as victims are limited with escape routes and may not have enough time to evacuate. Engineers can help with this by modeling to predict where and when a flood may happen. Models can utilize data learning from historical events, which is crucial for an engineer, as past events are learning experiences to understand more about the past. I would like to use my knowledge of water resources to help predict and plan for floods oftentimes natural disasters are unplanned and have short notice but civil engineers can still assist by assessing daming and providing possible solutions such as temporary infrastructure to help rescue or comfort victims. Preparing for a natural disaster can help reduce the impacts of the event however, action still needs to be taken during and following an event as victims may not know how to move forward from such an event. I plan on not only using my degree but my life experiences to help reduce flood losses and other natural disaster damages.

Flooding is an often underestimated natural disaster, seen in California where many residents brush off the chances of severe flooding due to enduring droughts. Preparing for floods is challenging when members of the community may not understand the probability of a flood and the potential impacts of a flood. With many cities and towns extensively developed around large rivers and bodies of water, it is difficult to protect communities, people, and infrastructure. Reducing the risk of flood requires constant monitoring and upkeep of flood protection methods such as levees, floodgates, and floodplains. The monitoring requires large amounts of manpower and community members. I was able to experience this firsthand while working at the Central Valley Flood Protection Board as a student assistant. I was able to work with the water resources engineers, inspectors, and floodplain managers to learn about the large number of people, departments, and communities all present for protecting people and their communities. It is a challenge to monitor and protect every location at a high standard as there are many opportunities for flooding. While modeling and simulation technologies have become very advanced there are still challenges when understanding the severity of a flood which may only be fully understood after the natural disaster. With climate change natural disasters especially floods and severe storms are only becoming more prevalent. To help reduce the risk of flooding community members need to understand the importance of such events. This can be done by closely working with communities prone to flooding and teaching community members about evacuation routes and preparing procedures for emergencies. It takes many people to help during a natural disaster, teams of engineers, first responders, and volunteers are needed to help victims of flooding. To learn more about flooding and become more involved I have joined the FMA emerging professionals group to learn more about flooding prevention as well as dealing with the impacts of flooding from professionals currently involved in floodplain management. Joining this group has offered many exciting opportunities such as workshops and training to help reduce flood losses. I believe that I can also help flood issues by learning from the past, as the past is a great insight into the possibilities of the future. Learning from past events is crucial in understanding what is successful and what is not. I believe that I can contribute to future flood issues by applying my combined knowledge gained from work experiences and academic experiences to improve communities' resilience to natural disasters.