Who am I?

PES Scholar - 2015

Electrical Engineering, Exp. Graduation Spring 2017, University of Idaho. I do not yet have an emphasis (just because of how our EE program is structured), but Power Electronics is very enticing, and I can't wait to delve into that facet of Electrical Engineering.

Why did you choose to study engineering and the power engineering field?

Honestly, it wasn't an active choice. I started as an computer science major, but I missed the hardware interaction to the point I knew I was in the wrong field. My best friend is also an Electrical Engineer and convinced me to switch my major - my only regret is I didn't take some other computer science majors with me.

What do you love about the power engineering field? What excites you about being involved in the PE field?

I've always been obsessed with energy storage systems - long before I was an Electrical Engineer. As a child, it began with my frustrations at my Gameboy needing a recharge so often and eventually evolved into a fascination with batteries and energy converters. When I was a freshman in my program, I built a MintyBoost just to learn how a boost converter worked.

How has been selected as a PES Scholar impacted you?

It's been very humbling, for many reasons. The first is the sheer size and demand in the power industry. Last year I heard a statistic (source unknown) that said Electrical Engineers have a projected -3.5% unemployment rate. I thought to myself, that means for every 100 engineers, industry needs 3.5 more. How is that possible? Well, seeing the demand being a PES scholar makes that statistic a little more believable. The second is being a part of something with so many gifted students and peers that are excited for their future careers. Motivation is contagious, but sometimes hard to initially catch. Seeing how successful my fellow PES scholars are both in the field and in school is awe-inspiring and I feel so honored to be a part of something so amazing.

 

January 2016