Hello, my name is Laura Colon. I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. I've lived in Providence, Rhode Island, for the past seven years. I came to the United States without any basic knowledge of the language. For this reason, I had to repeat a grade, which at that moment made me feel like a failure. However, this setback allowed me to adapt to the US schooling system, learn English, prepare myself for high school, and explore career path interests. Although I still struggle to fit in, I have tried my best to overcome my imposter syndrome by believing in my abilities to achieve my goals. I am a second-year student at the University of Rhode Island pursuing a major in Civil Engineering and Spanish through the International Engineering Program. After my third year of undergrad, I will be studying abroad for a year in a Spanish-speaking country. With the assistance of this program, I will be able to expand my cultural awareness, meet people from all around the world, complete engineering and Spanish courses, and work for an international company as an intern for a whole semester. As a first-generation Latino student, I believe it is my duty to inspire future leaders through STEM. I plan to continue to be an example of integrity and perseverance to the younger generation and I hope you will support it too!

• Student Manager - supervise and train student employees.

  Food & Beverages · University of Rhode Island - Ram's Den

  Jan 2020 – Jan 2022

• Spanish Tutor

  Education · College of Arts and Sciences URI - Language Department

  Jan 2022 – Present

• Operated lunch program sites, sports, water parks and pools for kids attending the summer camp.

  Recreational Facilities and Services · Providence Departments of Parks and Recreation

  Jan 2017 – Jan 2017

• Co-Captain (2018-2019) Captain (2019-2020)

  Robotics · MP Robotics Team

  Jan 2018 – Jan 2020

• Advocacy
• Volunteering
• Philanthropy
• Entrepreneurship

• Dancing

  Present

• Research Study Participant

  Multilingualism & Second Language Acquisition Lab · Hispanic and Latin American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General

  2020 – 2021

  Research topic:

  Spanish Writing Study

• Student

  Chemistry, General

  2020 – 2020

• Researcher

  Independent · Research Seminar

  2019 – 2019

• Play the trombone

  Mount Pleasant Band · Band

  2016 – 2017

• Donor/Helper

  Volunteering · Rhode Island Blood Center

  2018 – 2020

  Mission:

  Help organize and volunteer at my high school's blood drives

• Partner

  Advocacy · MP Robotics+IBEW Local 99

  2019 – 2020

  Mission:

  Partner up with IBEW Local 99 to donate board games to Providence church kids during Thanksgiving 2019.

• Volunteer Staff

  Volunteering · Rhode Island Robot Block Party

  2018 – 2020

• Helper

  Volunteering · Backpack Food Program

  2018 – 2020

  Mission:

  This program focuses on preparing backpacks with easy-to-prepare food for students who only depend on school meals.

• Tutor

  Volunteering · National Honor Society

  2019 – 2020

  Mission:

  Tutor students with their academics - Math, English, and Science

• Secretary

  Advocacy · National Honor Society

  2019 – 2020

  Mission:

  Keep track of all the issues discussed during the meetings.