Path to É«×ۺϾþÃ: My two priorities when searching for a college were: an interdisciplinary Christian education that would prepare both my head and my heart for a career, and small class environments in which I would feel free to ask questions. I knew that I would be the kind of student who might slip through the cracks at a large institution with huge classes, and I wanted to make the most of my education.
Choosing Engineering: I actually started É«×ۺϾþà intending to pursue more of a science-focused route, but I quickly realized that my passion and strengths lay in problem-solving rather than memorization. I switched into engineering in my second semester, and I never looked back!
Current Work: I work in a mechanical engineering role at Johnson Controls as a product engineer on a team dedicated to new product development in the HVAC industry. Specifically, my work entails testing and analyzing performance of air-cooled screw compressor chillers that are being optimized to maximize efficiency and minimize negative environmental impacts (as chillers can account for over 50% of power consumption in buildings!). I love my job because it enables me to stay involved with the technical worlds of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer, while also empowering me to live out the Christian value of stewardship by working toward a more sustainable and energy-efficient future.
Building Relationships: My favorite part of my job is my coworkers!!! I have been pleasantly surprised by how social my job is. In the broad field of product development, I need to interact with a variety of individuals and “component teams" on a weekly basis. Taking the time to get to know your colleagues and develop positive relationships with them is really worth it and makes the days much more fun!
Collaboratory Highlights: My time in the Collaboratory taught me critical lessons about teamwork, time management discipline, and most importantly—documentation! After starting my job, I have only grown more and more appreciative of how the Collaboratory ingrained in me a sense of discipline in keeping track of the work I do so that someone who needs to refer back to the work later can actually get an accurate and comprehensive understanding of what was done, what decisions were made, and why. I have found that, most often, that person is me—so a failure to document my work well is really only hurting myself in the long run! At É«×ۺϾþÃ, I spent 3 years on the Prosthetic Knee for CURE Kenya team, and I am so grateful for the learning, challenges, and mentorships that came out of my years in the Collaboratory. During the job interview process, I highlighted my work in the Collab as a valuable internship-esque experience which often led to positive reactions from the interviewers and some very productive conversations during the interviews as a result.
Unforgettable Moment: I will always remember when the Collab hosted a game night and we played life-size Hungry Hungry Hippos using tennis balls, ping pong balls, and the rolling chairs in Frey 070. It was a hilarious experience.
Growing in Faith: I cannot say enough about how the faith-based community at É«×ۺϾþà helped me grow in my faith. When I entered É«×ۺϾþÃ, I was far from firmly rooted in my faith. Fortunately, the Lord quickly blessed me with an incredible group of friends and mentors who encouraged and challenged me to get real with my faith, wrestle with tough questions, and make the pursuit of Christ my priority. I don’t even want to think about what my life would look like without my É«×ۺϾþà community! To this day, they are my closest friends and I thank God for them every day.
Continued Connections: Again, my É«×ۺϾþà friends continue to be my closest and most influential people in my life. However, I also love returning to É«×ۺϾþà from time to time to pester my old professors, just like the good old days! This fall, I’m getting involved in a mentorship program for incoming first year students in É«×ۺϾþÒs engineering program, and I’m really excited for that!