I initially applied to Maryland because my school counselor had advised me to do so though I did not know much about the program or the university in general. I took engineering classes for all four years of my high school career as a part of the PLTW program and by my third year I knew that engineering was what I wanted to do. As the deadline approached for me to choose a school, my family and I decided to go on a self-guided tour of the University and we had the opportunity to tour the engineering buildings and speak to a few Clark school faculty members. Though it was only my second school visit, it was a no-brainer after seeing Maryland’s stunning campus and being presented with the possibility of attending one of the best programs in the country with countless opportunities right in my backyard.

 

My best experience with a project has been working on the over-terrain vehicle in my Introduction to Engineering Design class. On my team, I was responsible for the physical electronic components of the project. During the semester, I learned about many things including batteries and power modulation as well as circuitry and current. By the end of the semester, I went from not knowing much about digital electronics to being able to create a working circuit schematic and implement a physical wiring system to power the OTV.

 

ENME272: Introduction to Computer Aided Design

 

HIST135: Civil Discourse or Urban Riot: Why Cities Don't (Often) Explode

 

I am a member of the Black Engineers Society which hosts events to help all students develop important skills in networking and professionalism. I am also a member of the Dynamic hip-hop dance team on campus and a recent member of UMD's chapter of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America.

 

My favorite on-campus event by far is Maryland Day. It is a campus-wide celebration that brings together students, faculty, staff, and alumni to showcase UMD's commitment to the community. Maryland Day brings a sense of pride and unity and allows everyone to experience the extraordinary contributions and diversity that make our school special. There is always a range of activities including interactive exhibits, performances, workshops, great food, and much more.

 

Though I have not yet had the opportunity to more fully participate in research on campus, my favorite experience had been visiting the Robotics and Autonomy Laboratory in the newly built E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory. I got the opportunity to learn about the cool research being conducted by the Maryland Robotics Center and even got to see it in action by observing Spot who is a mobile robot from Boston Dynamics.

 

One of the coolest engineering experiences I've had is getting to design, build, and test a wooden truss in Mechanics I. I worked with a team from picking which kind of wood and glue to use to build, all the way through to testing whether our truss would break under our predicted load. Apart from all the technical stuff, we got to customize our truss bridge and come up with a cool name for our team as we were also being graded on creativity. It was both an exciting and educational experience to compete against other teams and learn from different approaches.