Matt Rimmelzwaan

Hello everyone, I’ve just completed my third year of Civil Engineering with International Development at Western University. I will be staying in Accra, Ghana for three months this summer to work for Zoomlion. Zoomlion is a waste management company where I will be helping design landfill sites. During my stay here, I hope to gain valuable engineering experience and gain an insight of Ghanaian culture.

I gladly took this opportunity when presented to me because I had a strong desire to travel and to fully participate as a global citizen. Once I graduate, I’ll most likely settle into the Canadian workforce and it will be very difficult for me to get another opportunity like this. I hope I can make a small difference in the developing world.

Nathan, another engineering student who is accompanying me, and myself arrived in Accra on May 7th and are settling in well. As we get more comfortable with our surroundings, we’re travelling further and further from our hostel. On May 7th and 8th, we walked around our neighborhood and found out where to buy bottled water (needed since the tap water here is undrinkable) and where to buy a cheap meal of chicken and rice. On the 9th we traveled to Accra mall where we did some grocery shopping. Today, the 10th, we went to the Centre for National Culture, which is a giant market where you can buy carved masks and sculptures, paintings, colorful clothes, and other souvenirs. I enjoyed meeting and talking with some of the artists from the market about their work and themselves. I start working at Zoomlion on Monday and am excited to get started!

Comments

[Heather Hughes]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your blog post. I look forward to hearing about your summer experiences.

Have a great summer!

Cheers,
Heather Hughes
Communications Specialist, Western Engineering

[Aly Overholt]

Great to see you're documenting your experiences, Matt.

I'm curious as to how you are fitting into the landfill design work with your structural background so far. Is there talk of any other type of work you can put your academic knowledge to use for?

Looking forward to following your blog!

[Matt Rimmelzwaan]

There have been a few occasions when I’ve been able to use my structural background in my work. Gas vents are used at some of the landfills and I’ve been analyzing the structural stability of the blocks that enclose them. Also, there’s a transfer station that’s being constructed that I hope to contribute my structural knowledge to. In addition, I’ve been able to use my knowledge in fluid dynamics and soil mechanics in the flow of leachate and the stability of landfill slopes.