Industrial and Systems Engineering’s Sofia Bustamante is soon to graduate and has done quite a bit in three years at the University of Houston. So much, in fact, that she doubts that her past self would believe it without seeing it.
Bustamante chose to pursue industrial engineering because she found “the combination of business and engineering” appealing.
“Because you have that business side as well as engineering, you can succeed in managerial positions but still learn to run and work in a manufacturing plant or quality roles,” she said.
“I also really like statistics, which you see a lot of in industrial engineering. It was like the perfect match for me, and I’m really happy that I chose this major because I have really enjoyed my whole journey so far. I’ve enjoyed seeing how everything that I’ve learned through my classes has applied to my internships as well.”
Those internships include experience both as a design center student and in the pre-commissioning department with oil & gas entity TechnipFMC, as well as in global production planning with Dell Technologies, the latter of which with whom Bustamante has accepted a full-time position moving forward.
Under the guidance of instructional associate professor and Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Program Director Yaping Wang, Ph.D., she also undertook an optional research project with HCA Healthcare to evaluate their pre-surgical processes in pursuit of reducing scheduling delays.
“I learned a lot from her, and that’s something that I really appreciate,” Bustamante said.
Describing herself as both “an introvert… and an international student,” Bustamante has also found lasting friendships and connections through the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) here at UH, though her involvement with the organization first took root when she initially began her studies at Houston Community College.
She was able to transfer to the University of Houston in part because of the available quantity of financial aid for which she qualified here, including support from the UH Hispanic Alumni Association as well as The University of Houston Foundation.
“Thanks to all of the help that I received from UH, I could transfer and finish my studies,” said Bustamante. “At one time, I really didn’t think it could happen. I didn’t think I would find the right scholarship. But then one day it happened, and that’s because I didn’t stop applying. I didn’t stop trying.”
Bustamante is certainly tenacious, but being away from her family, still in Venezuela, has been difficult — an experience shared by many international students.
“It’s been three years without seeing them, which is really hard. It’s hard to be far away and to know that I’m by myself right now; if something happens, I’m the one who needs to solve the problem. I have to handle my studies and keep my GPA up, and I have to keep the rest of my life working as well.”
Her secret? She’s simply not afraid to try.
“I’m curious. I’m not afraid of what might happen; I’ll just go, and then I’ll know. I feel that has taken me far, because instead of feeling that I’m not capable, I’ll try something and see how far I get to go. I feel that has helped me along my whole career,” she said.
“Never in my life could I have imagined accomplishing so much throughout my time as a student. Adapting to a new culture, new language, new system of education… it’s a bit harder as an international student. When I look backwards, I ask myself, ‘would Sofia at 18 years old believe me if I told her all the things that she has done?’ But I have.”