I challenge future students to expand their idea of what it means to be a successful engineer.
Many times over the past four years, I felt like, ‘Wow, I’m not excited about thermodynamics. Maybe I’m in the wrong major.’ I sometimes felt pressure to conform to this mold that seemed to be heralded as the successful Stanford Engineer. The truth is, it was hard for me to get fired up about things like thermodynamics, robotics or trying to prepare for a career in tech. I’m passionate about service work, social justice, sustainability, being a part of the black community and rugby. Over time, I came to realize that that is OK. You can still be a successful engineer and not have this certain set of experiences that students before you might have had.
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