There’s a lot of movement going on in the life of a new college student. Physically, we are displaced from our homes and are forced to create a new space for ourselves. Intellectually, we are exposed to new subjects and become full participants of their academic discourse. Most of all, we get to embark on an educational journey of our choosing… But what happens after our decision has been made? College students tend to feel that choosing a major is a binding contract – one made at the expense of movement. After choosing a major, we feel that we no longer have the ability to explore and travel, both physically and intellectually. We feel stuck. To all those engineers who feel this way, I say nay!
When I first committed to engineering, I dreaded becoming stagnant and closing myself to things outside this seemingly exclusive and isolated field… But it has been exactly the opposite! Physically, I’ve been able to travel as an engineer all over the state and even internationally. I learned so much and had so much fun going to the Western Conferences for Engineers Without Borders in San Diego and the National Conference for Industrial Engineers in Montreal. Intellectually, I’ve found that students from other disciplines find it really fruitful to interact and discuss with engineers. Being an engineer cemented my membership in the Polymathic Academy, an intellectual group that took me to Disney to discuss its relevance and significance to the human narrative – and to have a magical time! In my engineering experience, I’ve discovered that I can always keep traveling and growing intellectually because engineers always keep moving.
