In the Community Based Experiential Learning Project (CBEL) we plan a real project for a real client. Our team works alongside an organization to implement a project that we have planned. The course is designed to enhance our project management skills by being involved in the project planning, design, and implementation. Our team is excited about giving back to our community and applying our creativity to the project.

Our team will be working with NSEMO (North Shore Emergency Management Office), they were founded in 1978 and are responsible “for effective co-operative emergency management (nsemo.org)” among many municipalities. NSEMO is able to provide services by “coordinating effective and efficient preparedness, planning, response, and recovery activities, and by bringing together resources (nsemo.org).” NSEMO has worked with multiple CBEL teams before and we are all very excited to be working with an experienced organization.

To deal with a disaster, communities must learn from similar disasters. “Operation Windshield” is developed to analyze the seriousness of the damage and prioritize when dealing with limited resources and time. NSEMO (North Shore Emergency Management Office) will simulate a disaster in June 2014 in order to raise awareness by conducting a windshield survey. Our team will be part of this project, by:

• Developing a list of infrastructures in the area of simulated damage and obtain photographs of the site (render the damage if possible)
• Reporting the observation in a narrative and elaborate on CBEL documents
• Developing a project plan, final report, and presentation to findings, products and recommendations

Our hopes for this project are to make a positive difference in the communities of North and West Vancouver.

This is our team:

Hi I’m Jessica Francis and I’m from Chilliwack BC.  I have been interested in civil engineering since I started watching HGTV and Bryan Baeumler. I am interested in the structural or project management side of civil engineering. I’m excited to work on the CBEL project because I love to give back to the community. My favourite amphibian is the green tree frog.

Hi I’m Ahmad Kallas and I’m a Canadian originally from Palestine. I like Civil Engineering because it gives me the opportunity to contribute into building whatever design I come up with, assuming I pursue my goal of becoming an architect. I’m thrilled to work on the CBEL project because it allows me to improve my communicational skills with both team members and senior associates. My favourite ice cream flavour is bubble gum (with extra gum pieces on top), you just can’t go wrong with that.

 Hi I’m Barry Qiu and I’m from Canada, immigrated from China. I like civil engineering because I like engineering in general since 6 and civil engineering seems suitable in BC due to large supply of lumber and space. I’m eager to work on the CBEL project because it gives me the opportunity to be creative and practical. My favourite hobby is to build mechanical gadgets because I have never received toys from my parents when I was little, so I made many toys myself instead.

 Hi I’m Johnson and I’m from China. I like civil engineering because it’s interesting. I’m excited to work on the CBEL project because it allows me to help the community and work with awesome people. My favourite food is Ramen.

 Hi I’m Nathan Chan and I’m from Hong Kong. I like Civil Engineering because of the opportunity to design and create infrastructure. I’m looking forward to working on the CBEL project because it allows me to solve a real problem with a group of like-minded classmates. My favourite activity is to travel and adventure.

 Hello everyone! My name is Lorena and I’m originally from Albania. Ever since I was young I’ve had a fascination with the built environment so choosing civil engineering made perfect sense to me. In the future I hope to pursue a career in structural engineering and build beautiful infrastructure. I’m really looking forward to the CBEL project because of the opportunity to work with a client and my teammates to solve a real world problem. I know this will be a great learning experience! I will be your best friend if you give me cheesecake.