SEE in the news: Advita Rayarika

All the while, the EEE 47200: Community-Engaged Engineering and Design class teams, led by Dr. Lindsey Payne, continue to integrate sustainability engineering and environmental engineering specific knowledge to address community partner and local stakeholder needs as they work together to improve the health of the Wabash River.

BSEEE Senior Advita Rayarikar is excited that this course allows for community engagement.

“These few weeks have really brought out the social aspect of the class,” said Advita.  

“Talking to clients and analyzing sites and the community surrounding the sites has brought a sense of social responsibility that other classes may not necessarily highlight… So far, my favorite part of the course has been the instant application of knowledge and real-world immersion.”

EEE 47200 allows students to collaborate in teams to address the needs of local community partners. Lindsey Payne outlines that this aspect of the course enables students to “display social responsibility, civic engagement, and leadership in addressing sustainability issues…[while] evaluating and applying diverse perspectives from multiple stakeholders to site-specific design solutions.”

Advita is part of the McCaw Park team working with Garrett Gaskins, the McCaw Park Lafayette Parks and Recreation Project Manager. McCaw Park is 26-acre park serving residents on the east side of the Lafayette community.

Advita aspires to gain insight from the community partner's experience with green infrastructure maintenance.  

“I hope to get more confident in my technical knowledge on green infrastructure and understand the implications of longevity… Working in a team is essential for this class because everyone brings a slightly different skill set, and together we can think outside the box to come up with solutions for our sites.”

These ambitions demonstrate the success of EEE 47200’s goals to create space for students to “take informed, responsible action to address ethical, social, and environmental challenges related to sustainability at partner sites.”

EEE 47200 students will be able to apply all of this work to future professional, sustainable impact. After graduation, Advita will start by pursuing consulting, then move to sustainability-related opportunities as her career expands. 

When this course concludes, Advita’s wish is that she and her team created a beautiful, practical, new addition to Lafayette.

“I hope the community partner has a positive experience working with us and continues to work with future class teams to keep the initiative going.”

When asked about the overall impact of SEE, Advita said that the School creates invaluable opportunities for the future.

“Sustainability and environmental engineering are important to ensure that the natural and built environments can coexist and thrive together for generations to come,” shared Advita.

The general idea is to leave the world a better place than it was when we entered it. The constant push for resilience and progress makes this program unique and rewarding.”

Keep following Purdue SEE for more impact updates from EEE 47200 student journeys!

To learn more about the Purdue School of Sustainability Engineering and Environmental Engineering (SEE), visit: https://engineering.purdue.edu/SEE