Major: Mechanical Engineer
Year in School: Senior
Hometown: Ixonia, WI
For the past year, I have been involved with two honor societies at UWP. I am the vice president of Tau Beta Pi, a society for all engineering majors; and the president of Pi Tau Sigma, for mechanical engineering majors. Admittance into the honor societies is based on a student’s G.P.A. and class rank. From my leadership position in both societies, I have gained experience in management, improved my organizational skills and learned how to set goals and achieve them. Joining any organization at UWP is a great way to interact with your peers outside of the classroom and learn valuable skills that will be useful in future careers.
UWP has a strong engineering program and the proof is in the classes and opportunities the engineering department has to offer. The required classes are structured in a way that is easy to follow: they start out by introducing us to general information then bring the focus to our major and activities pertaining to it. Lately, I have taken more core mechanical engineering courses and the projects we work on in class are applicable to the work real mechanical engineers do. My professors have been helpful in guiding us through these classes. I have never had a professor that wasn’t willing to provide assistance outside of the classroom. My classes have been challenging, but I feel a great sense of accomplishment and knowledge after the class is over.
I attended VanderCook College of Music in downtown Chicago for one year before transferring to UWP. I was familiar with UWP because I would watch the Chicago Bears practice here when I was younger. I also knew it had a good engineering program, which was the major I wanted to switch to. Coming to Platteville from downtown Chicago was a big adjustment but the small town and friendly atmosphere of Platteville grew on me. I instantly felt secure about my decision when I stepped foot on the UWP campus. There were professors and staff ready to help me with credit transfers, housing and financial aid. The small town I would visit as a kid is now the place I call home — I look forward to continuing my education here.
