Apart from being a top-ranked school for aerospace engineering, Illinois offered tons of research areas (more than any other universities that I applied to) to explore which was very appealing to a generalist engineer like me who was still figuring out which path he wanted to take.

There have been plenty but if I had to list a few, they would be:
Making some lifelong friends
Finally figuring out what I want to do for the rest of my life
Building self-confidence by exploring and experimenting

"The technical answer: Applied MATH! It still baffles me how we can just play with numbers, equations and logic to build megastructures, put a person on the surface of the Moon and what not! The non-technical answer: Problem solving! As engineers, teamwork and collaborative brainstorming is such a common part of our lives. Such an environment not only fosters creative solutions but also sometimes leads to lifelong friendships."

I chose to become an EA because they (we) make the world a better place to be in, one outreach activity at a time by engaging with and inspiring students from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Also, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and augment my public speaking skills by participating in outreach activities and interacting with/learning from my fellow EAs.

Two things: 1. Get out of your comfort zone! It would be difficult at first but your future self will thank you for it (apply to that RSO/internship, ask that question that you always wanted to ask but thought it was too basic). A wise person once said, ""You miss a 100% of the shots, you don't take.
2. Imposter syndrome and inferiority complex are so common in engineering. Always reach out for help! Remember that hard work will always beat talent if talent doesn't work hard."

I plan to work for a few years, explore the aerospace industry before (most likely) applying for a PhD in computational sciences and engineering. Now that I know what I want to do, I want to dive deeper and learn more!