What is your major and expected graduation date?
Candidate for Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering with a minor in
Spanish with Business Orientation; Expected graduation in May, 2018
Why did you decide to study engineering?
I have always had a passion for how technological devices worked on a
principle level. As a child, I would often take apart old laptops, game systems,
and other devices just to see their internal components. I found it amazing
how many individual components went into making most of our everyday
devices. Although I became very adept at taking different pieces of
technology apart, I was never able to successfully put them back together.
This bothered me a lot and made me feel as though I was missing out on half
the experience. It was from that point forward that I made it a mission of mine
to gain the necessary knowledge to one day be able to understand how to
construct one of these devices on my own. As I went through my high school
courses, I found a passion within my math and science classes which coincided
perfectly with my passion for technology. So I decided to pursue a career out
of it and chose to major in electrical engineering at the University of
Arkansas.
Why did you choose the U of A?
I chose the University of Arkansas for a number of reasons but primarily due
to the fact that I was a recipient of the Engineering Career Awareness
Program scholarship (ECAP). This program single handedly changed my
outlook from a collegiate standpoint. I was afforded the luxury of
complementary tuition, housing, meal plan, and the opportunity to interact
with other highly intelligent students. This, which I am still very thankful for to
this day, was definitely the determining factor in my decision to attend the
University of Arkansas. However, I was always a razorback fan growing up
and noticed the different engineering disciplines offered through the
university. That coupled with the ECAP fellowship made choosing the UofA
much easier, and is one of the best decisions that I have made so far.
Why did you decide to be a peer mentor?
I chose to be a peer mentor in hopes to be a sphere of influence to others.
When I came to the UofA initially I was very nervous and did not know what to
expect from the rigor of engineering. However, I was constantly encouraged by multiple upperclassmen to push through and achieve no matter the circumstance. This positive reinforcement and guidance sparked the interest in me to do the same for others that come after me. I saw the peer mentoring
program as the perfect liaison between myself and the younger generations.
Also my peer mentor was very instrumental in encouraging me to take the
leadership position of being a mentor when it was my time. He turned out to
be a very close friend after our mentorship officially ended and I still keep up
with him to this day. This also gave me the drive to be that influence in
someone else’s life and hopefully make a difference.
What’s been your favorite experience as a peer mentor?
My favorite experience as a mentor has been to see the maturation process
of my mentees from the fall to spring semester. Many of them come from
different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, so it was very interesting to
see how they all responded in the same setting. Initially, many of them were
very hesitant to communicate with myself and others in their classes.
However, as the year progressed and they began to open up more, I began
to notice tangible improvement from when we first met in the fall. A few of
them even went on to obtain research opportunities, internships, and co-op
experiences as freshman students. This was definitely the most enjoyable
part of the year for me, as I was able to witness it all from start to finish and
be there to encourage them every step of the way.
Do you have any advice for other students?
There’s no substitute for hard work. Being an engineering student will be
difficult. There will be times where you are challenged so much that it feels
like you chose the wrong major altogether and you want to give up. It’s in
those very moments where you must dig deep into your reservoir of
perseverance to move forward and to never forget why you started in the first
place. In the words of the late great Vince Lombardi, “Perfection is not
attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” It is highly
unlikely that you will go through an engineering degree unblemished.
However, if you consistently approach it with a perfectionist mindset,
excellence is highly attainable regardless of what you decide to pursue in
your lifetime.