November 6, 2015
Civil engineering student to intern with UN World Food Program
What began from watching a segment on "60 Minutes" with his dad, followed by a website visit and application process, has now led Ramin Rostampour, K-State junior in civil engineering, to an internship opportunity with the U.N. World Food Program.
Rostampour will depart for Rome, Italy, headquarters for the World Food Program, Nov. 27 and begin a three-month assignment on Dec. 1. With potential for the term to be extended to six months, he has worked out details to finish his studies for this semester, and next semester will be enrolled in a co-op to maintain good standing with the university.
"I will be working with the World Food Program engineering team whose main responsibilities are to design and manage the building of infrastructure that will make distribution of food possible to many communities in need," he said. "Oftentimes, there is a need for a road, bridge or runway where it previously has not existed.
"As an intern, much of my responsibilities will be project management, including contracts, basic design, reports and research. I was also told I will most likely travel to a lot of the communities in need we’ll be serving."
The World Food Program is the world's largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. Interns accepted for the program’s engineering team are under general supervision of the chief engineer for all project matters, and all tasks performed will be under direct supervision of a professionally accredited staff project engineer.
Requirements of intern applicants include being currently enrolled or having recently graduated with a university degree in civil/structural engineering, having completed at least two years of undergraduate study, having attended courses in the last 12 months, written and oral proficiency in English, and knowledge of various software programs.
"I have always been passionate about helping people, ever since I got my first taste of community service in the Boy Scouts," Rostampour said. "I chose to major in civil engineering because I saw the greatest need for civil engineers, and therefore, the most opportunity to help people."