I am a Problem Solver

I love fixing problems: getting a piece of equipment and figuring out what's wrong with it. One day I hope to design and build circuits.

I've always loved fixing problems: getting a piece of equipment and figuring out what's wrong with it. Once one of my friends found this large flat screen TV that didn't work and gave it to me. I figured out it was a power problem: the power supply had failed the backlight that shone through it. I went and replaced one of the circuit cards and a couple of components, and I got a nice TV out of it! One day I hope to design and build circuits myself.

The most interesting course I've taken in college was in power transmission and generation. It was exciting to realize that what you're learning in class could be applied to real life situations. Now I'm doing my co-op with the Navy in the electrical department, and I'm seeing it all come true.

The Navy has me working with electrical motors. It's sort of typical of what an engineer might do. I was involved in a group that went to different ships when they had potential electrical problems. One of the things we worked on was this motor generator that has a serious problem when it gets above a certain load. It was a system on an aircraft carrier that powered the radar and the weapons. They had back-ups, but if this system went offline it could have been a significant issue.

When I left my last co-op at the Navy, my boss said he'd hire me back after I graduated. It's really a great system for getting a job. And now I have almost two years of real work experience on my resume.

One day I'd love to work for a consulting firm where I could design and troubleshoot power systems. I love the interaction you get at a smaller company. And when you work with several clients, you get to travel a lot.

The image of engineering students is evolving. I know a lot of engineers who have hundreds of friends and enjoy socializing. I'm also a musician—I play the cello, and I sing in the Drexel choir. I think the nerdy idea of the engineer is a thing of the past.