Powering Up.org: Empowering Pathways Into Energy Scholarship

My name is Robert Zavala and as of now I have been accepted into a welding program at Idaho State University for a 2-year Associates Degree in Applied Sciences. As I have stated, I am an aspiring welder and after the completion of this course I aim to work as a pipeline welder or continue my education likely in the fields of mechanical engineering or nuclear engineering. Challenging STEM related activities and working with my hands has a been a constant throughout my life. I have never been afraid to dirty my hands nor have I been averse to anything science related from chemistry, paleontology, and most recently nuclear physics and chemistry. Besides my general interest in skilled labor intensive activities and science I also recognize the practical benefits of delving into these topics. The hands on experience allows me tinker and create while the more academic side allows me to understand how the world around me operates and how we as humans could potentially use or improve our ways of providing for ourselves and producing new technology. The energy sector is of particular interest as it has a monumental effect on our modern society. Everything is built around using different forms of energy from coal to the sun to power many essential systems that we rely on. And because of our deep seated need for the production and use of these energy sources is paramount to success and sustainability there needs to be ways that it can be improved. So what does me being a welder have to do with the energy sector? Welders play a critical and essential role in the initial production and maintenance of infrastructure relating to energy production. Oil, gas, and coal all need machinery to extract these resources and welders are a key player in the manufacturing of these pieces of equipment as well as their upkeep. Transporting these resources also requires many forms of machinery and permanent infrastructure often constructed of steel in which their assembly cannot be accomplished in factories. Pipelines are the poster child of this form of infrastructure as they are extraordinarily massive and even remote and without the crews installing them, namely welders, the efficient transportation of fluid fuels will be relegated to the whims of railroads and trucks. Additional parts to the energy equation involve refineries, boilers, turbines, piping, buildings, pressure vessels, reactor cores, and containment shields upon numerous other parts. But without welders, the harnessing of the Earth's mineral wealth for our energy production would be a heck of a lot harder and significantly more inefficient. But another thing to consider is our impact on the environment. Sure we can harness all the stored energy in the hydrocarbons we burn but that comes at the cost of air pollution by soot and heavy metals as well as anthropogenic climate change. An estimated 8.3 million people die and a multitude more suffer chronic respiratory illnesses each year as a result of our use of fossil fuels to power our world. They might be cheap, proven, and relatively efficient at the moment but should we continue to beat the price of millions of lives each year? I think not. To this I suggest our future lies in nuclear energy from both fission and fusion. The sheer amount of power they can produce at the low amount of waste that is produced plus a proven safety record are all pointing in the direction of nuclear power. Don't let the fear mongering and propaganda tell you otherwise. Humanities' source of power lies not with carbon, but the atom itself.

The sun rises and sets daily; as a child, I never questioned this event, and as I grow into a young adult, how rarely do I contemplate it? Besides, we can all still tell when it will shine bright and become dim outside from a simple internet search. When we look into our homes, the light, heat, and resources that run our lives provide for us all year long, even when the world around our homes fades to darkness. We have light by just flicking a switch and heat by hitting a few buttons, this practice has been instilled in us the same way dawn and dusk have since childhood. Growing up in separate homes with separate personalities can show you different viewpoints and ways of doing tasks. At my mother’s, we like to leave any lights on that create a cozy and comfortable feeling. Leaving on lights while not in rooms for a few minutes is beyond normal practice, completely contrasting with my father’s home. From the time I could reach a light switch, I would walk into a room, turn the light on, and complete or obtain whatever I needed. Once I walked out of the room briefly, I heard a "click" immediately, and then, turning around, I would look up at my father in disbelief at how quickly he made his point of turning off the lights when not using them. My father still practices this, continually making me further acknowledge it. This quirk about him truly opens my eyes to how familiar we are with the resources electricity holds at our fingertips. Nonetheless, just if our pantry is running low on the food we need, why don’t we manage to think about our electricity the same way? In early middle school, I became intrigued about where our electricity came from and how the whole process functioned. Lots of us were given opportunities to debate between different types of renewable and non-renewable energies by researching and learning how they worked. As a student not fond of 'arguing' or fully using my opinion against another, I became extremely passionate about the topic and prepared a well-researched debate. Roughly a year later, the opportunity came to me to participate in what is known as "KidWind." This competition features students building miniature wind turbines and then producing a presentation to share with engineers and experts in electrical careers. This year, my team and I will participate in KidWind Worlds after roughly two years of vigorous work and dedication to learning, problem-solving, and researching renewable energy. Throughout this experience, I gained the opportunity to meet and interview companies and CEOs, which gave me an even better understanding of real-world use and expectations. I've become passionate about energy and have realized how most of us are blind to its powerful use. Many of the people I talk to are less focused on the future of our world but rather on their personal lives. The next generation to come will be faced with formidable tasks and choices to form if electricity continues to be a dying resource. Just as we rely on our electricity, like the sunrise and sunset, we need prominent people to advocate the luxury we can only have for a limited time.