Collin Rasmussen
Name: Collin Rasmussen
Email: Racoll1@umbc.edu
Other Majors/Minors: Biology
On-Campus Affiliations: N/A
Internships: Lab work at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
On-Campus Research: N/A
Difficulties: Difficulty adjusting to heavy work load compared to high school, I needed to reevaluate if I really wanted to do engineering end of sophomore year and if it was worth it for me to change majors, however I’m very happy with my choice now.
What helped you with these difficulties: I started having peer group studies, as working together helped think through some of the more difficult problems. Group work also helped define what material needed to be prioritized, which you can do by yourself, but other perspectives are incredibly helpful.
Scores:
How do I feel about being an engineer: 86%
Aspects:
- Relating to people in my class or activities: 96%
- Fitting into an engineering career and being treated fairly: 76%
- Dealing with or overcoming problems and difficulties: 87%
How motivated am I to study engineering: 67%
Aspects:
How I value engineering: 86%
I’m motivated to study engineering because of:
- Financial rewards: 78%
- Parental Influence: 17%
- Improvements to the welfare of society: 100%
- Mentor Influence: 0%
- It’s own purpose: 89%
- It’s practical uses: 100%
How do I Value Necessary Engineering Skills: 62%
Aspects:
- How essential professional and interpersonal skills are: 56%
- How essential math and science skills are: 67%
Katelyn Gregory
Name: Katelyn Gregory
Email: greg16@umbc.edu
Other Majors/Minors: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
On-Campus Affiliations: AiCHE, Resident Assistant, President Cru, Running Club
Internships: None
On-Campus Research: None
Difficulties: For chemical engineers, the last gateway is in the fall of sophomore year. The professor I took the course with had never taught the course before and wasn’t used to teaching undergraduate level classes. I was reading the textbook, suffering through all of the homework problems, and going to all of the TA office hours, discussions, and review sessions. However, I was not doing well in the class whatsoever and I was heavily contemplating switching out of ChemE all together. I asked the TA and professor if I could get a tutor and they said they could set me up with one. However, no tutor came. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to be able to pass the class and so did a lot of my classmates. We all were looking at other majors like mechanical engineering and math. I felt like I was failing at life because I wasn’t understanding the material and I wasn’t receiving the help I’d asked for. Nevertheless, I chose to preserve. At a review session, I pulled aside a TA and asked him to explain how to do a simple problem step by step, detail by detail, so I could see how it was done. He helped me though it as I’d asked and on the next exam, I got a 33/35 on that problem. I didn’t get an A in the class like I was used to, but I did pass. I learned that failure is possible for everyone but we must push through and preserve, find another path or solution, and work diligently toward improvement. It was one of the most stressful classes I’ve ever taken but it taught me that while I may not get the same grades I am used to, I can still succeed.
What helped you with these difficulties: Some resources that I utilized were working with other people that lived on my floor, meeting up with friends and having a set schedule of when we would work on homework or study for exams, utilizing the tutorial centers on campus (Chem, Physics, and Bio are all good resources. I only used the Chem one though), go to the gym regularly because physical activity can help relieve stress, asking questions in class and utilizing TA office hours (because they are sometimes easier to connect with and less intimidating), making friends with people in my classes (seriously some of my best friends from college came from taking to people in my classes).
Scores:
How do I feel about being an engineer: 84%
Aspects:
- Relating to people in my class or activities: 79%
- Fitting into an engineering career and being treated fairly: 79%
- Dealing with or overcoming problems and difficulties: 93%
How motivated am I to study engineering: 44%
Aspects:
How I value engineering: 67%
I’m motivated to study engineering because of:
- Financial rewards: 56%
- Parental Influence: 0%
- Improvements to the welfare of society: 56%
- Mentor Influence: 0%
- It’s own purpose: 44%
- It’s practical uses: 83%
How do I Value Necessary Engineering Skills: 75%
Aspects:
- How essential professional and interpersonal skills are: 61%
- How essential math and science skills are: 89%
Areej Shahid
Name: Areej Shahid
Email: areejs1@umbc.edu
Other Majors/Minors: N/A
On-Campus Affiliations: AIChe, Chem-E Car, Muslim Student Association
Internships: I had a summer research experience (REU) the summer before my junior year at the University of Delaware. It was actually due to this experience that I began to consider pursuing a PhD in engineering.
On-Campus Research: I am currently working in Dr. Rosenzweig’s lab. Although the lab is not specifically an engineering lab, it has shown me that engineering can be applied in any discipline.
Difficulties: I struggled a lot with time management. I made a lot of new friends my freshman year and I enjoyed socializing with them, but that meant I had less time in the day for schoolwork. This led to me staying up later at night to finish my work and affected the amount of sleep I would get.
Scores:
How do I feel about being an engineer: 86%
Aspects:
- Relating to people in my class or activities: 92%
- Fitting into an engineering career and being treated fairly: 83%
- Dealing with or overcoming problems and difficulties: 83%
How motivated am I to study engineering: 60%
Aspects:
How I value engineering: 78%
I’m motivated to study engineering because of:
- Financial rewards: 56%
- Parental Influence: 0%
- Improvements to the welfare of society: 100%
- Mentor Influence: 33%
- It’s own purpose: 89%
- It’s practical uses: 67%
How do I Value Necessary Engineering Skills: 81%
Aspects:
- How essential professional and interpersonal skills are: 61%
- How essential math and science skills are: 100%