Being a “townie,” a lot of people ask me why I decided to stay here for another four years. My answer is always a combination of three reasons. Two of my three brothers studied engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), so there’s some legacy. Second, I always wanted to conduct research and there are so many opportunities here. Finally, having gone to University Laboratory High School in the heart of engineering campus, I witnessed engineering lifestyles throughout high school and knew that the amazing statistics about the school weren’t a lie.

Deciding to participate in the Grainger First Year Experience - Summer Scholars. This program allowed me to start college a semester early (during the summer) and live with 35 other incoming freshmen engineers in the dorms. Without this experience, I wouldn’t have met my best friend, gotten so many amazing mentors, or learned in a more relaxed environment about how to manage a college course load.

I love sitting (or hammocking) on the engineering quad after a long day and relaxing.

Since I’m from Champaign, one of the big reasons I joined EA was to give back to my community and get everyone excited about STEM fields. I also love to practice my communication skills.

Take as many opportunities as you can get to explore the STEM realm before you get to deciding about college. This can really influence what you might enjoy in a career so you can hit the ground running when you start college.

I plan to work in industry for a few years to learn more about what I would want to specialize in. At some point, I will go back to graduate school.