Civil engineering junior Michael Colby enjoys his adventure in Singapore
While a love of traveling and experiencing new cultures encouraged Michael Colby to study abroad in spring 2014, the four engineering classes he took in Singapore gave him a glimpse into what he wants to do with his future.
Colby’s favorite class focused on water issues in Singapore, an island that covers 277 square miles and inhabits more than five million people. To put the dense population of the island in perspective, the state of Iowa is more than 56,000 square miles and has a population of three million people.
The crowding in Singapore forced the country to be innovative when it came to managing its water supply. Colby learned about how the country’s water agency focused on clean water delivery and wastewater treatment to deliver clean water to Singapore’s inhabitants. “The whole experience really broadened my knowledge about the area I want to study,” Colby said.
Colby also enjoyed traveling around Southeast Asia and experiencing new cultures. He made many friends in Singapore and Malaysia and found it interesting to compare the different lifestyles.
Building relationships has always been an integral part of Colby’s adventure at Iowa State. Though he only knew one person at the university when he first came to Ames, he says making friends from different colleges, majors and activities has been easy to do, especially through his involvement in activities like SALT Company and intramural curling.
In the future, he plans to continue his interests in water remediation and wastewater treatment, including working abroad to discover ways to reuse and treat dirty water. “I want to learn more about water remediation so when I travel, I have something to offer. Clean water is a scarce resource, and I want to help solve that problem.”