In 2016, President Worthen addressed BYU and taught about the importance of "inspiring learning." He explained that the word "inspire" derives from the Latin term "inspirare," which means "to breathe into" and, more specifically, "to breathe life into." Reflecting upon my recent experiences in Haridwar, India, this past May, I can unequivocally affirm that they were nothing short of inspiring, profoundly breathing life into my educational journey at BYU.

Over the course of the preceding year, my colleagues and I used our design skills to try and help women in an extremely impoverished area in India. There are no bathrooms in this area so the women must defecate in vast fields, resulting in a high risk of sexual assault. The prototypes we have been producing this past year have been crafted with the aim of mitigating that high risk. In May, we had the opportunity to visit these women and teach them about the different prototypes we had created.

Taking part in such a meaningful project has impacted not only my identity as a designer but also my personal growth. This project has taught me invaluable lessons in forging connections with individuals despite language barriers and fostering deep empathy towards those burdened by harsh realities I may never personally encounter. I spent an entire morning in the company of two remarkable teenage girls from the area. Through broken English and Google Translate, we were able to connect with each other and form a meaningful friendship. Furthermore, I was able to hear the stories of women who had suffered sexual assault and how reliance on their gods helps them overcome these traumas.

This project has fundamentally reshaped how I approach design. Someone once told me that design is intrinsically grounded in serving others. As designers, our role extends beyond acts of service; we empathize with individuals in order to meticulously craft tangible embodiments of love that serve individuals time and again. This project reemphasized that point. It taught me how important it is to genuinely comprehend the struggles of the individuals we aim to assist, allowing us to create products that elevate their quality of life. Additionally, this experience has taught me how to design for a group of individuals, even when their lived experiences appear distant from my own. To design effectively, I had to learn how to set aside my own assumptions about the world I live in and deeply explore how their experiences and culture shape who they are.

This experience has also influenced my priorities in a design career. I have come to deeply appreciate the remarkable impact that diversity can have upon the world of design. As a result of this experience, I was not afraid to push my limits as a designer and individual and seek an overseas internship. Come September, I will begin a new journey as an apparel design intern with Adidas at their headquarters in Germany. I will stand as one of the few American representatives amongst a culturally diverse cohort of 55 interns. The opportunity to expand my identity as a designer by immersing myself in a diverse group of people excites me greatly.

I will never forget the experiences I had in Haridwar, India. It is the first time that I have fully understood BYU’s motto “enter to learn, go forth to serve.” This project allowed me to see the impact that my skill set can have on the world and now, more than ever, I feel prepared to go and serve others with my unique talents and abilities.