I was born with a fascination for engineering and science. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been curious about how electronics 工作.
小时候, I would look inside the cases of my Gameboy, 翻盖手机, 或录像机, and poke at the circuit boards to see if I could figure out how they 工作ed. Even though I doubted my ability to do more than poke at a few chips, 使网易彩票app不知所措, 然后结案, I would often dream about becoming a professional engineer.
My parents were not a big part of my decision to major in engineering, but the steps leading to my decision were inspired by their teachings of hard 工作. 我从小和父亲一起工作, starting when I was about 11 years old, learning all sorts of trade skills. 这并不容易, and I remember complaining about the 工作 because the hours were long and the 工作 was tiring. 回应我的投诉, my parents would always tell me that, “We 工作 like this because we have no choice. If you want to stop 工作ing long and tiring hours, then you need to 工作 hard so that you can live however you like.”
在初中, 通过我的AVID课程, I spent a good portion of my time researching careers I thought I might like to pursue. Ultimately, I ended up choosing engineering because of my lifelong fascination with the field. I had learned to enjoy the design and building aspects of my father’s business, and I wanted that to continue to play a big part in my life. I also took what my parents told me to heart: If I wanted to become an engineer, I would need to put in long and tiring hours to achieve my dream.
My first year of college, I attended Central Washington University. It was some distance from home, and I enjoyed my newfound independence. My first year was filled with happy and memorable experiences, but when I realized that my main purpose for being there was to be away from home, I found that I regretted choosing a school that didn’t have the program or the environment that I really wanted. While I felt the need to stay in a city where there would be better opportunities for me, I went in search of a small school with small class sizes that would provide me with more meaningful student-teacher interaction.
When my friend Nefi recommended SPU — telling me that the school size and Christian environment would be a perfect fit for me — I searched the University website for an electrical engineering program, 我找到了我要找的东西, 并立即应用.
My experiences at SPU have far exceeded my expectations. I remember in my very first logic systems design class, I came in thinking that I would be alone unless I could make friends quickly. But right after class, a student came up to me and introduced himself. 从那以后网易彩票app一直是朋友! 在那之后, 我交了更多的朋友, all of whom made studying engineering and computer science a wonderful experience.
The highlights of my time in the engineering and computer science department were the events and team projects. One of my favorite events was the Erickson Conference where students from all STEM majors participated in a showcase of their projects and research. 我能够参与其中, present my team’s project (a portable modular greenhouse), 看看其他人是怎么做的.
During my time here at SPU, I have had many caring professors. But there is one professor in particular that made a lasting impression on me. Professor Peter was one of my first professors — I took an electrics class with him. 始终如一地, he would start his lectures by showing us pictures from his hiking trips, 包括风景的照片, 他的家人, 花, 动物, 还有群山. He always had the perfect Bible verse to accompany them, too. I found that starting class like that really set the mood. It also removed any anxiety about the difficult material that we had to cover that day.
I grew up going to church with my family, 读圣经, and praying regularly — all of which resulted in my strong faith in God. 然而, as I started my first year of college and became busier with school工作, 我不再经常这样做了. 在SPU的这些年里, 我对上帝有了更多的了解, 他的诺言, and the inspiring stories that reassure me and strengthen my faith. 这对我很重要，因为, 随着岁月的流逝, I have grown busier than ever with school, 工作, 以及其他义务. Some days are more taxing than others, but the reason I’m able to push forward is because of my increasing faith in God.
After graduation, I plan on finding a position 工作ing with electronics. I’ve also been thinking about pursuing a master’s degree. I am not sure what I’d like to study yet, but I’m very interested in bioengineering. I hope to make a decision about graduate school after I’ve been 工作ing for a couple of years.