Professor Rodwell                                                                                                February 2, 2022                           

160 Convent Avenue 

New York, NY 10031

Atiqa Chowdhury 

123 Alphabet Lane 

Dhaka, Bangladesh  

Greetings Professor Rodwell,

Nice to meet you! My name is Atiqa Chowdhury, and I’m a prospective environmental engineering student in my first year at City College. I tried many different fields in high school which led me to my interest in environmental science. My first experience with environmental science came through politics. I participated in Model UN for two years, where I grasped the gravity and permanent impacts of environmental warfare. Then, I got into fieldwork and sample collecting for water treatment research, where I learned about the faults of the city’s sewer systems. Afterward, I became an intern at the Brooklyn College soils testing lab and heard about lead contamination for the first time. I decided to work in a food scraps and compost pick-up service in Bushwick to learn more about soil remediation and developed a desire to build accessible technology and infrastructure so black and brown communities can find a center in the climate movement. 

Most of my experience with environmental justice is in urban neighborhoods, so for the future, I’ve decided to become a permanent researcher for Yellowstone National Park. Infrastructure is a key solution to making sustainability accessible in New York but, living near Marine Park Wildlife Reserve, I constantly wonder about how the data is made to create these solutions. I want to be an active participant in creating these solutions first though, so I can learn more about what specific interests I have in the field. Applying my skills in a tech environment can teach me to grasp how research is acted upon. 

In college, I’m hoping to continue researching the history of environmental justice and understand the role companies have in polluting and destroying urban environments. As an immigrant, I’m excited to rupture spaces that have not traditionally been accessible to me and understand the connection between colonialism and environmental warfare. 

Because of my desire to do fieldwork as well as application-based work, I am hoping to enter graduate school. I looked at the credentials of other researchers in Yellowstone and realized they had years of publications and credentials before getting their positions. So, I believe having experience in tech and working for my master’s degree, or perhaps a doctorate can give me space between these goals to grow and learn as a student. 

All in all, I’m quite unsure about how specifically I want to help in the area of sustainability and environmental engineering, but I know it’s a field I will continue participating in.

Sincerely, 

Atiqa Chowdhury