Shaun Walters

Class of 2023
Major: Materials Science and Engineering
Hometown: Oakland, MD
High School: George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology

What Made You Decide to Attend UMD?
I decided to attend UMD due to its exceptional academic record and proximity to Washington, DC. UMD is top ranked in all of my academic interests, which gave me flexibility and confidence when deciding a major. Having access to the DC metro also gave me access to the great career opportunities and nightlife the city has to provide, such as NASA’s headquarters or concerts at The Anthem.

Best Experience with a Class or Project
During my sophomore year, I did research on active materials for my College Park Scholars capstone project. The project gave me full access to one of UMD labs and taught me many powerful lab techniques, such as Dynamic Light Scattering. I also was able to write an academic research paper on the work I did. The experience I gained from the project was vital for future research projects.

Favorite Class In Major
ENMA312: Experimental Methods in Materials Science

Favorite Class Out of Major
AOSC200: Weather and Climate

Student Organizations/Extracurricular Activities
I am the treasure for the Materials Science and Engineering Society (MatES) on campus. I also work at the UMD’s on-campus bike shop, providing free tune up and repairs to students’ bikes. I host the radio show, “One Level Deeper,” on WMUC, UMD’s student radio station. I also was part of College Park Scholars: Science, Discovery, and the Universe (SDU) and was a peer mentor for SDU class of 2024. I have gone on trips with the Terp Ski club to both Killington, VT and Banff, Canada.

Favorite On-Campus Event
My favorite on-campus event was when John Mulaney came to campus. He is one of my favorite comedians and was hilarious to see in person. It felt very personal as many of the jokes were specific to the University of Maryland.

Favorite Research or Study Abroad Experiences
During my freshman year, I participated in the PREMIER Research Program, which allowed me to work in one of the UMD’s material science laboratories, without prior material science knowledge. The program was designed to allow freshmen to get experience with research and an understanding of Material Science and Engineering, which convinced me to become an MSE major.

Cool Engineering Experience
One of the coolest engineering experiences was my ENES 100 class. I was able to work in a team and design an over sand vehicle that was fully autonomous. It gave me experience not only with common engineering technologies, such as 3D printing and Arduino, but also taught me how to manage working on a larger project with several parts and team members.

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