From the Stage to the Site: Asking “Why?”
While working in environmental engineering, pageantry became an unexpected training ground.
In pageantry, you’re asked to communicate years of service, passion, and work in a very short time to an audience with different levels of interest and understanding. If you can’t clearly articulate why something matters, it doesn’t land, no matter how important it is to you. Conviction alone isn’t enough. The meaning has to be clear.
As I developed my community service initiative and prepared for interview and onstage questions, I created a strategy to keep myself grounded. I would repeatedly ask one question—why does this matter?—and I wouldn’t stop asking it until I reached the bare bones of the issue.
That same approach later became foundational to how I approach environmental work and community impact.
The following example is hypothetical and used solely to illustrate how I think about translating technical work into community-level meaning.
For example, saying “we need to replace the covers on our stormwater drainage system” is technically correct, but incomplete.
Why does this matter?
Because the current covers have deteriorated and contaminants could enter the water system.
Why does this matter?
Because those contaminants move through the stormwater system into local water bodies.
Why does this matter?
Because those water bodies are sources of drinking water for the surrounding community.
Why does this matter?
Because access to clean water is both a legal requirement and a moral obligation.
Why does this matter?
Because we have a responsibility to operate in a way that protects and respects the communities around us.
So when someone says, “we need new stormwater covers,” what they are really saying is “we have an obligation to protect the community beyond our fence line”.
Pageantry trained me to build meaning with intention. To strip an issue down to what actually matters without losing its integrity.
And corporate responsibility, it turns out, has a lot more in common with an onstage question than people might expect.
This approach reflects how I think about communication and responsibility — not commentary on any specific organization or operation.