How did you get involved with STEAM ? It was largely through school and good teachers that grew my excitement about a career in a math driven field.
Have you ever participated in any arts activities? (Music/Visual arts)? If so, How do you feel about STEAM? How has it shaped you to become the person you are today?
I played the guitar and often went to art camps growing up. I really enjoyed art classes I have taken in school and think it's good to challenge the mind creatively, especially being such an analytical person like most engineers tend to be.
Are you an advocate for STEAM? If so, what have you done to push STEAM?
I am an advocate and one thing that I have done in the past is tutored for math courses. I think tutoring is a bit different because usually individuals come in with a dislike of the subject because they don’t think they are good at it, but its exciting to see how that can slowly go away the more comfortable they get with the material and better they do in the class.
Have you ever been discouraged when it came to pursuing an engineering degree? If so, how and why?
I have never been discouraged when it came to pursing a degree, but there have been instances where even after I have earned my degree, people will make comments or be shocked that it is something I achieved. Only a few months ago, I tried to tell a family friend I hadn’t seen in a while what my job was and it was a back and forth of me telling them I am a engineer that designs buildings and them throwing out every other job field such as interior design, architect etc. before saying “Oh wow, you’re like actually and engineer… sorry I’m just surprised”. I’m glad that is something I can cope with hearing now because it would definitely be discouraging to hear something like that growing up.
Who is your STEAM role model?
My high school calculus and physics teacher.
Have you always wanted to become an engineer?
I always knew that I wanted to go into involving math but it wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I knew I wanted to do engineering.
Do you ever get frustrated with your job? If so, how do you cope?
Sometimes it can be frustrating when you are assigned a task and don’t know where to start to get it done. But, that is also what keeps the job exciting and I choose to be glad that I am continuously learning and focus on the excitement that will come when you look back on what you learned through the process.
What is your daily work routine? Why do you head into the office every day and do what you do?
Unfortunately right now, I do not get to head into the office but I make sure to get into a space where I can focus on my work and get in the right mindset. Some days I have mostly individualy work. Other days may require a lot of collaboration and I will spend it chatting back and forth with members of my team. I try and take small breaks throughout the day but that can be hard to do when it’s a day filled talking to team members and you have a deadline.