After graduating from high school, Adam Block of Cheyenne, Wyo., spent two years volunteering
overseas. There, he discovered a passion: helping people in developing countries,
especially children with special needs. Now this mechanical and energy systems engineering
student is using his education to give back even more.
Finding a calling: “As soon as I graduated from high school, I went to Northern Ireland for a year. I worked with adults with special needs in a self-sustaining community,” Block says. “After that, I went to South Africa for a year and did something similar, working with children with special needs.
“It’s indescribable how much it taught me,” he says of his time overseas. From then on, he knew his future career would include volunteering and working with children.
Education for the future: “I knew I could get a really good education for a really good price,” Block says of his decision to attend UW. He added a minor in chemistry and plans to graduate in December 2016. After gaining work experience as an engineer, he may go on to medical school.
“If I go to medical school, my ultimate goal would be to work with Doctors Without Borders and tie that back to my passion for working with children in the developing world. After graduation from UW, I’d first like to work in the oil and gas industry and develop some skills to take back into a medical degree. I would translate that into being a doctor, engineer and entrepreneur to help develop communities.”
Block is very active on campus, including involvement with the engineering honors society Tau Beta Pi, the UW Engineering Fund for Enrichment, the Joint Engineering Council, intramural sports and the Honors Program. He also serves as a mechanical engineering ambassador and teaching assistant. Block participated in a jazz combo and volunteers through the UW chapter of Engineers Without Borders.
“This is my second year as president of Engineers Without Borders. We’re working on two major projects. For one, we’re developing a dormitory for Hope School near Mbita, Kenya, which primarily serves children who are orphaned and vulnerable. We also have a project in Comunidad Maya, Guatemala, to develop a new water distribution system.”
Block took part in his third internship this summer with Encana Corp. and believes UW’s knowledgeable and approachable faculty are preparing him well for his dream job, which will combine skills learned in school with his passion for helping others.
