What inspired you to become a ClarkLEADER?
I believe that the most vital time period for any college student is their first week of classes their freshman year. This is the short time period in which students have the chance to get adjusted to campus life, class schedules, navigating campus, and learning about what it means to be a college student prior to the official kick off of classes and the absurd amount of work that may be given to them. As a ClarkLEADER, I want to help make this transition to college life as smooth as possible, providing new students with helpful first year advice, information, and guidance before they start their first day of classes. As a ClarkLEADER, I hope to set an amazing example of what it means to be an engineering student and how each and every student can have a positive impact on not just the engineering school, but the University of Maryland as a whole.

If you attended ClarkLEAD as a first-year student, what did you enjoy most about the event?
Walking into ClarkLEAD, the first thing that caught my eye was the large mass of first-year engineering students like myself. The event truly put into perspective how impactful and in demand UMD engineering is, and I was lucky enough to be one of them. The program gave me an opportunity to meet fellow engineers that I would have classes with my first year, and also talk with ClarkLEADERS who provided me first year advice and information about UMD as a whole.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with new Maryland Engineering students? 
DON'T STRESS. The worst thing that any college student can do, especially freshman, is create a stressful situation for themselves, whether that be overloading their first semester with coursework, classes, or extracurricular activities. While it can be beneficial to get a jump start to your education, it's also important to enjoy the other aspects of UMD and college as a whole. This can be taking time to explore unknown locations on campus, going to sporting events, or taking a trip to DC during the weekend. I see freshman year as the "childhood" stage for college students, if you will. It's a time to enjoy your surroundings and have fun at UMD with minimal struggles from time to time. As students progress through the 4 years at college, the workload and stress only increases, so it's important to take time during their first year to enjoy the good. I made the mistake of overworking myself last year, and as a result I missed out on a lot of fun events and college experiences. If I could go back, I would give myself the same advice I'm providing now. Manage your time properly, don't procrastinate, go to classes, be responsible, and keep yourself in check. Don't worry about what other people are doing or how much free will business majors have, focus on yourself and your own success. But most importantly: Relax. Breath. Don't stress. College can be both a fun and educational experience, not just one or the other.

What are some organizations or extracurricular activities you are involved with on campus?  
There are 4 key programs that I'm currently associated with at UMD:

1. Clark Scholars Program: As a member of Cohort 5, I, along with 10 other cohort UMD engineers, take rigorous courses and participate in monthly service learning projects, all in an effort to uphold the legacy of A. James Clark and his values in engineering, business, leadership, and community service.

2. American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME): ASME is an on-campus organization dedicated to bringing mechanical engineering students together in order to take a break from stressful classes and activities by hosting monthly events, some related to engineering while others are simple and fun gatherings. This upcoming semester, I will be the membership chair, where I will be assisting with the recruitment of new members & keeping current ones informed on meeting events & membership requirements. I will also be keeping track of member performance & contributions to the club & monthly events through attendance and engagement.

3. The University Senate: As an undergraduate representative of the engineering school, I participate in frequent meetings pertaining to university wide decisions and determine what would be in the best interest of engineering students and UMD students as a whole. I am also the undergraduate chairmen in the committee on committees, in which I am charged with Identifying & recruiting individuals fit to serve in the Senate, University, and the System Committees & Councils. I also Actively conduct assessments of senate committees based on effectiveness to improve overall effectiveness and performance of senate.

4. ENES100 Undergraduate Teaching Fellow (UTF): I am currently looking forward to participating in ENES100 once again during Fall 2023, but this time around I will be a UTF. As a UTF, I will be helping students through the engineering design process and provide advice as they design autonomous vehicles designed to accomplish mission specific tasks.

What is a cool engineering experience you've had? 
Hands down the coolest experience would be ENES100. This may seem like a generic intro to engineering course at first, but it is so much more. That class was a true introduction to what it means to be an engineer. Students learn the basics of engineering and autonomous design for the first couple of weeks, but after that, you're on your own. You have a problem, and you need to come up with a solution, just like a true engineer. There are several approaches to the problem, and there are also many obstacles and requirements to take into account, but that's what makes the course fun in a challenging way. Truly an amazing course and brilliant way of introducing new engineers to the Clark School and engineering as a whole. The course makes students use their creative mindset and learn various methods of approaching the engineering design process, which is something that can be carried over to future courses, build your resume, and even implement in a future job.

Back to all ClarkLEADERS