Today we’d like to introduce you to James Rice.
James, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Volunteerism has always been a part of my life. Growing up I would volunteer constantly with Boy Scouts or through my local schools.
When I went to college at Michigan State University (MSU) in the Fall of 2009, I wanted to continue volunteering. While I was there during my freshman year I got involved in the MSU chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB). I was involved all my years in college where I would participate in local, national, and international volunteer events. I volunteered at the local food bank, Ronald McDonald House, and various other organization in East Lansing where MSU was located. During Spring Break, I would travel to do disaster relief in New Orleans & North Carolina and trail maintenance in national parks in Virginia & Tennessee. Internationally, I worked with other students to design and construct composting latrines in a rural village called El Balsamar in El Salvador and helped drill a well in the Mabibo-Makuburi community of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Not only would we work with the community’s we partnered with to improve their infrastructure, but we also hosted educational workshops to teach water, sanitation, & hygiene (WASH) techniques and operation & maintenance of the systems we installed to instill ownership & facilitate sustainability in the communities we worked with.
After I graduated MSU in the Spring of 2014, I moved back to Southern California (I’m originally from Orange County) to Los Angeles in early 2015 working, and where I am still working, at a civil engineering consulting firm, KPFF Consulting Engineers. When I moved I had the desire to continue participating in EWB. I joined the EWB Los Angeles professional chapter (EWB-LAPC) in January of this year and traveled with them to the community of Teze, Cameroon this past July. This international project in Cameroon is a new project that has just started up with the LA chapter. In Cameroon, we will be working with the community to rehabilitate and improve their existing water supply system. I am happy to continue to be a part of such a great volunteer organization!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
EWB has been an amazing and rewarding experience! It’s been a smooth road all the way.
Please tell us about Engineers Without Borders Los Angeles Professional Chapter.
Engineers Without Borders is a national organization with student (university) and professional chapters all over the Country. EWB’s mission is to build a better world through engineering projects around the globe that empower communities with sustainability in mind.
EWB’s practice of sustainability is really the primary factor that sets it apart from other international volunteer organizations. It is paramount to work alongside the community’s you partner with to ensure they have the capacity to sustainably maintain, financially and technically, the engineering projects that are implemented within their communities.
Currently, the Los Angeles professional chapter has two projects going on. The first is a local project in the Angeles National Forest, where we are aiding the US Forest Service in the improvement and redevelopment of the Hidden Springs Picnic site. The second project is an international project in the 3,000 person community of Teze in Cameroon. We just recently traveled to Teze this past July to assess the communities needs and gather technical data for future design purposes. We will be working with the community to rehabilitate and improve their existing water supply system over the next 5 years.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood would have to be the time in Boy Scouts around the age of 13 when I hiked to San Jacinto Peak on Mount San Jacinto near Palm Springs. The weather was perfect and the view from the top was one of the most amazing I have seen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ewb-la.org/
- Email: ewb.la.org@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ewblosangeles/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ewblosangeles/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ewblosangeles
- Other: Newsletter Sign-up: http://ewb-la.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c92a4cfb4a94e995724c862eb&id=79ee929bff
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