Why I Chose Water: Student Perspectives

Water is one the fascinating topics which brings a huge community from around the world together to serve the public. Each individual protective project can make a big difference in the cumulative lack of pollutants in water systems around the world. No matter the geographical distance, we all are on the same page when it comes to conserving global water reserves. This is what brings geographically and culturally diverse students with water interests from around the world together as one unique community collaborative impacting the entire world. Managing the water is still one of the biggest challenges to deal with. No matter how educated you are in the management of water systems there will be undiscovered aspects of learning in this field.

Mawj is one of the international students from the Middle East who studies wastewater treatment processes. Her undergraduate studies in environmental engineering made her curious about water resource management. She successfully completed a long and challenging journey resulting in her admission to Portland State University to study water resources. She is hoping to apply what she has learned to make a positive difference in the local rivers of her home country, which have been polluted for many years. She will make herself ready to contribute to the challenging projects which will enhance the water quality in her country.

Ryan had a chemical engineering background which peaked his interest in water while working at government agencies. The advancement of the environmental processes to protect the water inspired him to pursue a higher education focused on water resource management. He has concerns about future climate changes and extreme flood events and their overall impact on water management. He believes advancements in computer applications and software have really changed the storm water schematic by allowing for more detailed modeling and map-making, resulting in more informed decision making. These new technologies provide improved processing of huge data sets, resulting in an enhanced and effective management of resources.

Atousa Gorg

Atousa is an energetic, motivated life-long learner as well as a principled and passionate civil and environmental engineer who is always ready to take on the challenge of engineering projects and related problems. Clean water is her biggest passion and she is fascinated by the facilitation of pure water from conveyors to treatments.