Engineering for All Ages

Stepping into the Student Involvement Fair as a freshman four years ago, CJ Cole experienced the same excitement that had first drawn him to science as a child. 

“My mind went instantly to my elementary school—riding teacher-built hovercrafts, doing soda-bottle rocket launches, and racing up ladders for egg drops at science fairs. It was through programs like these that I became enamored with science,” said Cole, now a fourth-year environmental engineering/molecular and cellular biology double major. 

He immediately joined the university’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders, a non-profit organization that provides support and resources for community-driven sustainable engineering projects, often with the assistance of engineering students. In recent years, the Johns Hopkins chapter has expanded its roster of volunteers and strengthened its programming with semester-long projects like traps for invasive cane toads and avalanche barrier models. The program also offers robust programming in math tutoring, research experiences, and Science Olympiad coaching for elementary school students.

Going with the flow is pivotal when you’re running experiments and need to troubleshoot. So my kids keeping me on my toes isn’t just about teaching them. It helps me be a better scientist.

Now a STEM educator with EWB’s Community Outreach Program, Cole sees increased student engagement as the main benefit of EWB’s growth.

“I’ve noticed over time that our kids are more willing to ask questions and engage more with our lessons due to spending more time together,” he said of his work in Baltimore City schools. “Kids will come up to me in the halls and greet me, even when I’m at the school for other programs, which means a lot to me.”

In addition to his work with EWB, Cole runs campus field trips, science fairs, and engineering activities for grades K-8 as a program assistant at Barclay Elementary/Middle School, a city public school with a decade-long partnership with Johns Hopkins. During his time with the program, they’ve put on two annual student engineering showcases, integrated above-grade-level curriculums for fifth graders, and won the Center for Educational Outreach’s Community Connections Award in 2024. Cole has enjoyed working with the students, staff, and teachers on all these activities, but is proudest of those moments “when students jump up and down on stage and cheer for each other’s science projects to work.”

Through EWB, Cole has learned to be more adaptable and attuned to his surroundings, especially in the lab, transforming his approach to academic research. 

“Going with the flow is pivotal when you’re running experiments and need to troubleshoot. So my kids keeping me on my toes isn’t just about teaching them. It helps me be a better scientist.” 

Environmental Health and Engineering is a cross-divisional department spanning the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Whiting School of Engineering. This hybrid department is uniquely designed to lead pioneering research and prepare the next generation of scholars to solve critical and complex issues at the interface of public health and engineering. Learn more about our programs.