Why Illinois?

Initially, I planned on going elsewhere. But luckily, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers invited me to campus as part of their High School Visitation Program with other newly admitted engineering students for a weekend program. It was during this program that I truly fell in love with the campus and culture and realized what amazing and boundless opportunities I would have available to me. I knew it would be challenging, but I also knew there was no better place where I could explore my professional future and develop as a person.

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What impresses you most about your major and the College?

The Engineering Physics curriculum at Illinois has taught me to think critically and analytically in a way that I find unique from students at other schools. My favorite aspect of the Engineering Physics curriculum is that you can choose a theoretical track if you’re pursuing graduate level education or, contrastingly, you can focus on the many technical electives the department offers.

My Hoeft Technology & Management Class in Shanghai

In Shanghai, on the Hoeft Technology and Management annual study abroad trip to China.

The Department of Physics has close ties with nearly every department on campus, which allows for concentrations in any of the other engineering disciplines, astrophysics, business, pre-law, pre-medicine, or anything else you can think of. This aspect is definitely unique to Illinois and allows us to be skilled in many facets. It also doesn’t hurt that the Engineering Physics program here is ranked #1 in the United States!

What’s your favorite activity you’ve done through Engineering at Illinois?

I’ve had so many great opportunities, but I would say my favorite is helping plan the High School Visitation (HSV) Program through the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) my sophomore year. Through HSV, SHPE is able to bring students from underrepresented backgrounds to campus for a 4 day weekend. This is such a great program because it allows students to picture themselves taking part in all Engineering at Illinois has to offer.

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

SHPE friends add fun and camaraderie to the college experience at Illinois.

Have you done research?

Yes, I was a research intern at CREOL, the College of Optics & Photonics at the University of Central Florida. My research investigated bonding of silicon wafers with PECVD deposited layers using spin-on-glass technology as a planarization and adhesion aid. This may enable the commercialization of low power loss silicon-on-nitride wafers as a promising platform for mid-Infrared integrated photonics.

Have you held an internship?

This past summer, I was an Engineering Leadership Program intern for National Instruments working in the Product Marketing division. While there, I worked on a system platform for a Massive Online Open Course signal processing lab course. I also helped create an automated paintball marker system, Paintball Picasso, under Waterloo Labs. This summer I will be interning with IBM to pursue Information Technology.

Part-of-my-Summer-2013-Waterloo-Labs-Team,-National-Instruments

My team displaying our project for National Instruments.

What has been your favorite place to live on campus?

I really enjoyed living in Florida Avenue Residence Halls (FAR) my freshman year. I was apart of a Living-Learning Community where everyone on my floor became really great friends.

What’s campus life like?

Campus life is a juggling act. Being an engineering student requires strong dedication, hard work, and discipline to reach your goals. You’ll learn what the intensity level of your classes will be early on in your undergraduate career. It then becomes easier to schedule your time for academics, engineering organizations, activities, and a personal life.