– Luis Alberto Condori –
About
Luis is currently a college senior in Environmental Engineering in Bolivia, a member of the NGO ECOTEC, and works in Industry Solutions, a company that helps micro and small business develop by providing industrial machinery and engineering services. The story was translated from Spanish to English by Yara Rodriguez.
Most of us have all been asked what do you want to be when you grow up when we were children. An Astronaut, a doctor, a police officer, and a football player were the most common answers in my environment. When I had to answer such an interesting question, I said without hesitation, a toy inventor! And it’s because I loved creating, putting together new things or giving them a new utility. All of that seemed a lot of fun to me.
Luis Alberto Condori
As an anecdote, I remember that when I was 9 years old, my mother scolded me for destroying the new car toy they gave me. “I will not buy you any more toys since you destroy everything,” she told me. But what she did not realize was why I did it. I was intrigued to know how that little car moved when I dragged it back. At that moment, it did not make sense to me and I was not going to be left with any doubt so I decided to take it apart to see what was going on the inside. I found plastic gears, metal and springs. I took apart many more car toys as I wanted to know if they all worked the same and why some were faster than others. That often happened to me; a question would arise, and I would propose a hypothesis, and I would then carry out one test after another to see if I was right. Years later, I learned that this was called the scientific method and what I had learned about the movement and strength of materials was called mechanics.
I was born in 1993 in Oruro, a small town in Bolivia that is known for its folklore and carnival which was recognized by UNESCO as the Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
I studied at the La Salle school where I was taught about the importance of education and values. Virtues that I appreciate to this day.
Broadly speaking, my childhood and adolescence were not very outstanding. I was an ordinary guy and people did not have many expectations for me, or at least that is the impression they had. But I did not think the same.
The good thing about hitting rock bottom is that the only option left is to emerge. And that’s what I did.
When I had to choose my undergrad major, I remembered the dream I had as a child … where do you study to become a toy inventor? This was the question I asked myself. In my search, I found that engineering was the closest thing to it. But why toys? I was not a child anymore. I wanted to be an inventor of toys for 2 simple reasons, I liked the idea of innovating and I wanted my creations to bring smiles to children. I was then convinced and I decided on environmental engineering because I could use the ingenuity of an inventor to build “toys” (aka equipment) that help preserve the environment and thus make many children smile.
I received the support of my parents and in order to fulfill my goal, I moved to the city of La Paz. I enrolled at the Military Engineering School, a private university. I was excited; however, it did not take long for everything to fall apart. My family suffered a severe economic crisis and my mother was diagnosed with kidney failure. This was a hard blow that prevented me from continuing my studies at that university for some time. But my desire to fulfill my goal never ended. I finally started my studies again at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA), a state university.
My mother was hospitalized for almost 2 years during which I had to mature a lot. My life at that point can be summarized as a cycle between school, the hospital and the small room where I lived. After several failed compatibility tests, my father decided to be the donor, and miraculously the surgery was a success. The whole experience taught me the importance of cherishing love and life.
Things started to go back to normal. However, I was not the creative and restless child anymore. I had become a pessimistic, introverted and insecure person.
The good thing about hitting rock bottom is that the only option left is to emerge. And that’s what I did. I structured my studies which helped me perform well in the subjects I liked. I also took several extracurricular courses and volunteered. I had returned to my dreams.
An important milestone for me was participating in Clubes de Ciencia Bolivia. This program sparked my passion in science and technology. The education model they use is different from the conventional one; grades are not the most important thing for the instructors. Instead, they value the potential, the ideas and the intrinsic value of each student. There, I learned that it does not matter how much knowledge you have, but how much you can actually contribute with it.
I learned so many things that I felt the need to apply them. Ever since taking part in the program, I have participated in several competitions across different science branches including climate change, entrepreneurship, technology, sustainable development, education, and more! I am currently a senior in Environmental Engineering, a member of the NGO ECOTEC, and I work in Industry Solutions, a company that helps micro and small business develop by providing industrial machinery and engineering services. Somehow, I feel that I am fulfilling my dream and I am part of a team that builds big toys to make children smile.
Cover Image is by Remaztered Studio from Pixabay | CC0 Creative Commons
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