Innovation Spring 2025

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VOLUNTEERS Volunteering with Engineers and Geoscientists BC is more than just a noble endeavour; current and past volunteers attest it’s a journey that intertwines personal growth with community impact. Four of our valued volunteers explain how their experiences are not just about giving back; they’re about forging connections, sharing knowledge, and building a stronger, more resilient professional community. By Brian MacIver

Build skills and community Samuel Ndegwa, P.Eng., P.Geo., is currently a geotechnical engineer with Instratus Monitoring Limited. He also volunteers as a student campus presenter with Engineers and Geoscientists BC, where he speaks with students on the role the organization plays as a regulator and how to become a registered engineer. Ndegwa said he intentionally chose his volunteering experience to build better communication skills and a broader professional network while giving back to the engineering community. “Volunteering with Engineers and Geoscientists BC has always resonated with my personal and also professional values,” he said. “By volunteering, I aim to contribute to governance, the registrants, and knowledge sharing, all to uphold the high standards our industries are known for.” While he did expect to see growth in the areas he intentionally focused on, what surprised him about interacting with students was the impact some of them would make on him. The eagerness he encountered, in particular, reminded him of why he became an engineer in the first place: the continual drive towards improvement.

“As registrants, we sometimes take for granted that it’s a journey for someone to be where they are. The eagerness got my attention and gave me the nudge to continue to be better than what I am at the moment.” Other registrants approach their volunteering as a way to gain experiences that differ from their full time roles. That was a factor for Joshua Kelly, P.Eng., who serves on the Climate Change and Sustainability Advisory Group. As an engineering director at ICLEI Canada working on Climate Insight, a digital platform providing relevant, actionable data and information on building low-carbon, resilient housing and infrastructure, he mostly works on sustainability projects at the local level. His advisory group volunteering allows him to broaden his scope of work. At the time of joining the advisory group, “I was working for the City of Prince George on climate action, sustainability, and energy management,” Kelly said. “Being on this advisory group was another opportunity to deepen that area of practice and area of interest and support sustainability and climate action at the provincial level.”

Innovation Spring 2025

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