Welcome to my portfolio! My name is David Edington. I am a student at Dartmouth College pursuing both a BE in Mechanical Engineering from Thayer and an AB degree from Dartmouth in Engineering Sciences. I also am a TA for three different engineering courses and am the current president of Tau Beta Pi, NH Beta where I work to make STEM education more accessible for younger students. Outside of academics, I am a leader of the Men’s Heavyweight Crew team where I compete as a D1 athlete and member of the US U19 National Team while also working to recruit incoming freshmen, advise underclassmen athletes, and connect classmates with our faculty advisor.
My time at Dartmouth was interspersed with a gap year during the COVID pandemic; however, this challenge also presented an opportunity for me. I took a year away from academics and spent the first nine months helping middle and high school athletes find community through rowing while also repairing boats that fractured. During this time, I also picked up a camera and started taking photos for the team and realized I have a passion for photography. After I felt that I had maximized my impact at home, I volunteered for a disaster relief NGO in the Bahamas roofing houses destroyed by Hurricane Dorian, and repairing drills and impact drivers which sat broken in the tool shed. This work reinvigorated my love for analyzing failed mechanical systems and realized my love for benefiting the community around me.
These opportunities that COVID presented taught me that I not only love engineering, but that I love to make a positive impact on people’s lives through teaching, helping to rebuild communities, and designing delightful, robust products. So, upon return to Dartmouth not only did I dive head first into the academics and athletics that I missed so much, but I have made both the engineering and rowing communities I am part of more inclusive and welcoming to all through my roles both on the team, as a TA, and through work in Tau Beta Pi.
As my time as an undergraduate comes to a close, I am not ready for this academic engagement to conclude and am looking to pursue of Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering to further my understanding of robotic systems, the materials upon which they are based, and the real world application of that material. It is at such a program that I would acquire the in-depth technical understanding of mechanical engineering that will allow me to become the knowledgeable, eminent engineer that I desire to be. I no longer just want to understand how a system works, I want to be able to design, build, and iterate new robotics that can provide groundbreaking technology to medical, aerospace, and transportation industries and improve the world around me.
