From Rwanda to US: the Pursuit of Environmental Sustainability
After nearly 6 years as a civil engineer in the East African country of her birth, Berthe Rutagambwa decided it was time for a change. Though she was helping Rwanda (meaning "the land of a thousand hills") modernize through her work as a site engineer on life-changing road projects, she realized there was more to do. That's when her own road led her to the University at Albany, where today she pursues her master's degree in Environmental & Sustainable Engineering. She reflects on her journey below.
Tell us about your background.
I am from Rwanda (means a land of a thousand hills), located in East Africa. I was born to a family with six children and both of my parents are high school educators. My goal since I was a kid has been to become someone useful to the society. In the village where I was born, women are generally the ones who fetch water from distant sources, since clean water is very scarce. I grew up wondering how I can help these women, so that they can spend time on other important aspects of life.
The journey started in high school. After consultation with my parents and a few teachers who I considered as my role models, I chose to learn science (Mathematics, Physics and Geography), which later led me to majoring in civil engineering for my undergraduate study. The goal remained the same - how do I build infrastructures to transport clean water to households and relieve the loads of women?
In 2016, I got my bachelor's degree from the University of Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) and my study was supported by the Commonwealth Scholarship. At the beginning of 2017, I was able to help construct a water reservoir of 2500 cubic meters with reinforced concrete for my village, in coordination with local authorities and with the skills I acquired during my undergraduate study.
I later worked in a well-known road construction company in my country, where I worked as a site engineer for constructing asphaltic roads and heavy trucks parking lots for 6 years (2017-2023).
Why did you choose UAlbany and the Environmental & Sustainable Engineering program?
In August 2023 I started my master’s degree in environmental and sustainable Engineering. After nearly 6 years as a civil engineer, I realized that we were excelling in road construction, but the environmental and sustainability aspects were largely overlooked throughout all the construction stages.
We could build landfills that are located in habited areas, start a project without even assessing the environmental impacts or dispose wastes from roads that are in the vicinity of water bodies and swamps. In addition, the industrial sector in my country is growing, increasing greenhouse gas emissions. In the countryside, people still use firewood and charcoal for cooking. All these reasons motivated me to learn more about environmental sustainability and my country also badly need more engineers with relevant skills.
I applied for graduate study through the Fulbright Program and was only sure that I was going to study environmental sustainability. The program helped identify the Environmental & Sustainable Engineering Department at University at Albany, because it is among the first of its kind in US and aligns with my goal.
How do you like your graduate study so far and what benefit you the most?
I was really impressed by the small class size and dedication of the professors to teaching and student mentoring. As one from an education setting where the classes have more than 200 students, I relish and benefit from the close interactions with professors and classmates. As aforementioned, my background was in civil engineering. In this graduate program, I am learning new knowledge and skills in environmental engineering and sustainability, such as environmental remediation, air pollution control, and solid waste management.
How is your life at UAlbany? What do you like to do outside the classroom?
Life at UAlbany is a whole new experience for me. I am making new friends every day and enjoy the diversity and cultural exchange on campus. The university provides an excellent study environment for us and the libraries are my favorite.
Outside the classroom, I like to interact with my classmates. I also have many American friends, whom I consider like my parents here. I love going to church each Sunday and sometimes watching movies at different cinemas. I also enjoyed some popular activities in this region, such as fall foliage viewing and apple picking.