This semester has deepened my understanding of engineering not only as a technical discipline, but as an iterative and deeply human practice. Through class discussions, readings, my portfolio development, attending the AERA conference, and continuing to shape my own PhD work, I have found myself thinking differently about what it means to be an engineer, educator, researcher, and leader. Rather than seeing these identities as separate, I increasingly see them as connected par

This semester, my class project focused on a question I care deeply about in my professional work: how can engineering curriculum better connect classroom learning to the realities of engineering practice? My project builds on work I have been involved in through the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program (ITLP), where we develop hands-on learning experiences that help students engage more directly with engineering tools, testing methods, and real-world problem-solving. For

When I began my undergraduate engineering degree, I did not feel like I belonged. I sat in Intro to Digital and Analog Electronics feeling overwhelmed and out of place. I was one of two women in a class of seventy. I failed my first exam. I began to internalize the idea that I was a “slow learner.” I quietly wondered if engineering was meant for people who had been taking things apart since childhood....not someone like me, who was deeply people-oriented and empathetic. In EN