Year 3: 2025-2026
This past year has been one of the busiest and most rewarding periods of my academic, personal, and
professional life, marked by challenging coursework, professional growth, and meaningful experiences outside the classroom.
In the summer of 2025, I stayed on campus and took classes such as Thermodynamics, Circuits and
Sensing, Kinematics and Kinetics of Machines, and Ordinary Differential Equations, as well as other important courses for my major. I really enjoyed this semester because the classes I took are some of the most important of my entire time in college, and I spent plenty of time with friends going on hikes and camping. I had the pleasure of going on my first backcountry camping trip with some friends at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I also went on several trips to Red River Gorge, including a memorable camping trip where we experienced severe weather as a tornado passed nearby, which was an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.
During the fall semester of 2025, I completed my second co-op rotation at GE Appliances in Louisville,
this time working in Clothes Care. This experience allowed me to contribute directly to product development, including designing a spray system to remove lint buildup from a part in a vented combo washer-dryer system. I learned and strengthened technical and engineering skills such as soldering, CAD modeling, prototyping, making test plans, conducting tests, and documenting results. I had the opportunity to 3D print parts and take parts from other machines to put together a system to test. This experience allowed me to practice important skills and learn more about the engineering process.
Aside from my professional experiences, the fall was also a period of significant personal growth. I
participated in a plethora of volunteer experiences including multiple at Bellewood and Brooklawn painting cottages, wrapping gifts near Christmas time, and handing out candy on Halloween to the kids who live there. Additionally, I worked toward completing an EMT course, expanding my skills beyond engineering and developing the ability to remain calm and effective in high-pressure situations. I met a great group of friends at the co-op and visited parks such as Mammoth Cave National Park and Red River Gorge, and even had to chance to cliff jump for the first time. I also made a trip to Chicago, where I got to see many interesting sights while being guided by some of my more well-traveled friends. Through all these experiences I learned how rewarding it is to give back to the community, and that much of growth comes from trying new things and making mistakes.
In the spring of 2026, I returned to campus and continued building both engineering and business
knowledge through coursework including Fluid Mechanics, Machine Design, Kinetics of Materials, Numerical Techniques, System Dynamics and Vibrations, and Foundations of Accounting as part of my MBA curriculum. It was a privilege to take these classes and learn such important material related to my Materials minor, Mechanical Engineering major, and my Masters of Business Administration.
Looking back on this year, the common theme throughout these experiences has been growth through
new experiences and juggling different aspects of life. In the past year I have had to balance rigorous academics, contributing to engineering projects in industry, developing new technical skills, and building meaningful relationships. It has been a pleasure to have every single one of these experiences and I am so blessed to have had all of these opportunities.
