Senior profile: Molly Bosworth

Whether she’s in the classroom or a student organization, Molly Bosworth is a leader. Bosworth, an electrical engineering concentrator at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), has taken on leadership roles in multiple SEAS-affiliated clubs, while also serving as a peer concentration advisor and teaching fellow in the introductory electrical engineering class at SEAS.

For Bosworth, the best way to feel connected to the community is to help shape it into what you want.

“If you don’t feel like you necessarily belong, then really having a say and impact on your community can be a big part of fixing that,” Bosworth said. “The biggest part is being able to listen to and make space for people, while also being assertive enough that when other people aren’t doing that, you call them out. It’s making sure that you’re not just a team leader, but part of the team as well. It’s understanding people’s dynamics and knowing how to work with them in the best way, and which roles to put them in to show their best selves.”

Growing up in the United Kingdom, Bosworth developed an interest in math and science at a young age. Her parents would take her to youth science festivals when she was growing up and being interested in STEM made her stand out at her all-girls high school in southeastern England. When it came time to apply for college, she started looking at U.S. schools that offered broader course options than the U.K. system allowed.

“I knew I wanted to do engineering, but wasn’t sure which type,” she said. “I’d gone to a presentation about studying at Harvard, and it seemed pretty interesting. The idea of everybody living on campus, extracurriculars being a big thing, I decided to give it a go. I had to get my own job to pay for the entrance exams, because it’s a very expensive system compared to the UK. I only applied to Harvard, because that’s all I could afford, and here I am.”

Due to pandemic restrictions, Bosworth spent her first year taking virtual classes from home. When she arrived on campus as a sophomore, she threw herself headfirst into the extracurricular scene. That started with the Harvard Undergraduate Engineering Society, where she’d served remotely as a freshman representative and eventually became co-president.

“That was one of the only places where I could make really good connections with people online in my freshman year,” Bosworth said. “If it hadn’t been for the engineering society, I don’t think I would’ve known many people on campus, so I was always very thankful to the Engineering Society for that.”

The engineering society helped Bosworth immerse herself in the SEAS community, but that involvement went to another level with Harvard’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB). She was initially drawn to the club because it offered an approach to engineering that was based more on practical application than theory. That interest quickly blossomed into the place to which Bosworth has devoted the most time and energy outside of the classroom.

“At that time, I was second-guessing my skills as an engineer,” she said. “EWB opens doors to people who might feel like they’ve pigeonholed themselves into particular engineering disciplines. I’ve learned about hydro engineering, how to do data surveys, contractor management – stuff I couldn’t learn anywhere else.”

She’s now the co-president of EWB, and even hopes to maintain her ties to the club after graduation.

“It’s become one of the best aspects of my time at Harvard, not just on a personal level but in terms of real-world impact,” she said. “EWB brings in students who care about the process, the things you learn along the way, and are very broad-minded in terms of engineering and humanitarian work. It’s really the people that make the club and keep me wanting to come back. At the end of the day, if it wasn't a welcoming environment, people wouldn’t be sticking around.”

For her senior capstone project, Bosworth and classmate Arba Shkreli built a remote multi-sensor network that uses seismic and radio frequency sensing to detect victims trapped under rubble following an earthquake in an urban setting. Their project received a Dean’s Award for Outstanding Engineering Project.

Bosworth has also served as vice president of the Harvard Undergraduate Maker’s Collective, president of Harvard’s board game club, and member of its Society for Women Engineers. All that leadership experience should help her succeed post-graduation at Arcadis, a London-based engineering project management firm.

“That isn’t something I would’ve necessarily considered if it hadn’t been for my leadership roles in extracurriculars,” she said. “It’s going to be great. I’ve spoken to a few people there, and they’re very big on work-life balance. Plus it’s not too far away from my hometown, which would be a nice change from the last three years.”