Hello Friends!
I just finished my last class for the semester. It’s kind of strange! As cliche as it sounds, junior year quite literally flew past me. Some moments seem so far away, but others like they were merely minutes ago. 2 weeks from now, I will be done with finals and officially be a senior Trojan. I don’t really know how this is real life, but I will go with it! I’ve had a fantastic three years, and I know my last one will be no exception.
This semester was truly fantastic. I can honestly say I feel like every class I took gave me some useful skills that I didn’t have before. Whether it was legitimate analog circuit design in EE348, learning C++ and coding up mazes, puzzle games, and even a Verilog file simulator in my EE355 class (weird concept, I know), building a MATLAB GUI and real-time data analysis/writing a technical report based around a sensor stick and pitching a potential product to sell to wind farms and power companies in EE337, or learning about every type of contract law, trusts, wills, and white collar crime in my business law class, I truly felt like I expanded my mind this semester. I have come away with a true understanding of how to be efficient, how to push myself, and how to apply a plethora of new skills.
Now, for the exciting part. After the fantastic semester I’ve had (and granted I survive the toughest round of finals I will probably have as a student here), I will be headed to Dresden, Germany to work for GLOBALFOUNDRIES as a yield engineering intern! I am incredibly excited, nervous, and terribly frightened at the same time. The beauty of human emotions, huh? We’re such complex beings:p But really, I am so excited more than anything for this opportunity. You can read about GLOBALFOUNDRIES on their website, but basically they are a fab that opened in 2009 and they make wafers to sell to companies like Qualcomm (where I have worked the past two summers), who then use them for their products which go into devices made by OEMs (phones, tablets, etc). So this summer will help me take a step back in the supply chain process of the semiconductor industry, and fully see how everything works from start to finish. I had a feeling when I started at Viterbi, my path in EE would be related to semiconductors (this is what my dad does, so I wanted to believe I might fall for something else and pave my own path. Alas, like father like daughter). Now, going into senior year, I’ve officially decided to specialize in integrated circuits (exactly what semiconductors are), and follow in my daddy’s footsteps (at least for now. I have much different plans for my career as a whole!). It will be so cool to actually be working with these wafers and conducting failure analyses/interacting with some of GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ customers, and then come back to school and put some of my newly found knowledge to test in the classroom with my MOS VLSI design class, EE477. Then the following semester, I will be in EE438, which is a continuation of EE338 (introduction to semiconductor devices), in which I will actually get to go into the clean room in my bunny suit and make a wafer design!
A cleanroom at GLOBALFOUNDRIES
Recently, I’ve been looking for housing for my internship, and I finally got assigned to a student dorm! It’s gorgeous, and I could not be more thrilled It will be in the heart of Dresden, which is not very close to my work (my company is in an industrial area, with not very many temporary housing options). However, I’ve heard Dresden has excellent public transportation. I’ve already looked up which buses/trams/the train I need to get to work. It will take me about 45 minutes each way. But I don’t mind! That will be a great time to screenwrite, people watch, and watch LSAT vids for my online course (I will be retaking the test in the fall to improve my score, and get it out of the way once and for all!).
Where I will be living in Dresden this summer!
A student dorm for the Technical University in Dresden
Looks so colorful. Will update on how this place looks in real life soon enough…
Did I mention I don’t speak a word of Germany btw? Because I most certainly do not. So from a cultural and linguistic perspective, this will be quite the adventure and learning experience. I hope to pick up a great deal of German, and learn a lot of German culture. I think this will be a fantastic growing experience for me on so many levels. Not to mention hilarious source material:P
Any way, onward to finals! Here’s to finishing up the year strongly. Look out for a blog about my friend group’s second annual trip to San Diego (my hometown soon), Waiting for pictures to process, and then I’ll end the year with that one. Also, since yesterday was commit day, I’d like to officially welcome all new members of the Trojan family. Prepare for the best 4, or 2 years of your life. Appreciate every minute! I am realizing now how quickly it can pass by.
Until next time friends, Fight On!
