{"id":68729,"date":"2018-03-27T14:48:42","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T18:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/?p=68729"},"modified":"2022-10-21T16:44:24","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T20:44:24","slug":"student-profile-kali-hamilton-leap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/2018\/03\/27\/student-profile-kali-hamilton-leap\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Profile: Kali Hamilton (Leap)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

#TerrierTuesdays: To peers in her engineering courses, Kali Hamilton (ENG) appears to be just another undergrad. The difference? Kali already holds a B.A. in political science from @uofpenn. The California native came to BU to join one of the only programs of its kind in the nation: LEAP. LEAP offers an accelerated curriculum to students with non-traditional backgrounds to transition into BU\u2019s Masters of Engineering program. These students are brought up to speed on engineering basics that most traditional Masters candidates get in their undergrad coursework. Kali, who began the program in September, will matriculate into BU\u2019s Master\u2019s of mechanical engineering program next spring, where she will focus on robotics. Kali\u2019s journey to engineering is both unconventional & serendipitous. She recalls graduating in 2014 with no clear idea of what she wanted to do next. After working as a criminal defense legal intern, an academic research intern and a Jimmy John\u2019s bike delivery driver, she found a permanent position at Philabundance, a hunger relief organization in Philadelphia. It was there she realized there were challenges her organization faced that could be solved by someone with engineering skills. Her \u201caha\u201d moment came in the warehouse banana room, a temperature-controlled space optimized to keep bananas fresh. Kali recognized that when they had an abundance of other food items, but no bananas, that space was wasted. This spurred her to seek an automated solution. Ultimately, these are the types of problems she hopes to fix, with the goal of using her skills to consult for social justice organizations & nonprofits. She\u2019s already at work, dedicating her free time to making composting easier for individual homeowners & apartment dwellers. Kali\u2019s project aims to use heat generated from food waste to offset gas heating bills, incentivizing people to be more sustainable. Her message to fellow Terriers? \u201cIt\u2019s hard to remember that everyone is unique & your path isn\u2019t necessarily linear. My experiences have all been completely different, but they\u2019ve each led me to the next. If what you\u2019re doing doesn\u2019t feel right in your gut, it\u2019s never too late to start again.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Boston University<\/a> (@bostonu) on