Aria Shankar

The following student column was written by Aria Shankar, a biomedical engineering senior at the Cullen College.

In the Spring of 2022, about 1,000 students graduated from the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering. As a whole, it is remarkable how UH has prepared a diverse group of students for their futures and instilled them with skills and values to take to their careers. But at an individual level, each one of these students have had their own paths at UH, from the minute they stepped into their first class as a freshman, to the moment they walked across the stage at Fertitta Center for graduation. I had the opportunity to interview four spring graduates to learn about their own personal journeys to become the successful graduates they are now.

Martin Reyes

Martin Reyes entered the University of Houston as an exploratory studies major. After joining the Honors Program, taking a variety of classes, and finding a passion for STEM, he decided on Biomedical Engineering for its diverse and versatile program. Martin earned the role of External Vice President of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) his senior year after participating as a dedicated member since his freshman year.

His fondest memory of BMES is Go Baby Go, an initiative that provides modified ride-on cars to children with disabilities. He recalls delivery day, where he and his team were able to gift a refashioned car to a child with limited mobility. He remembers the feeling of satisfaction of improving a life through a project that took a semester to complete and required real-world application of knowledge from their Circuits classes.

Similarly, Martin plans on impacting lives post-graduation as he studies to be an Optometrist at the UH College of Optometry. His interest in optometry began at a young age from frequent visits to the eye doctor. He told me that he always had terrible vision, so putting on glasses was a great feeling, and made him realize how vision is underestimated as it is the way people interact with the world.

Along with his engineering coursework, Martin worked part-time as an optometry assistant during his junior and senior years of his undergrad. He appreciates the Biomedical Engineering program at UH as it has allowed him to take courses such as “Advances in Vision Research” and other diverse electives that excite him and prepare him for graduate school.

Madison Hamby

Along with being elected to serve as president for Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical engineering honor society, during her senior year, Electrical Engineering major Madison Hamby accomplished a handful during her time at UH. Madison completed a Controls System Development Co-Op at CenterPoint Energy from January to May of 2021. Madison shared that as the Texas winter storm and power crisis occurred during her co-op, she had a firsthand view of how these situations were controlled since working at an energy company.

Additionally, Madison was selected to participate in the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at UT Austin, where she was assigned to a professor to study machine learning distributing edge devices. It was here that she found her passion for research.

During our interview, the topic of being a woman in a male-dominated major was brought up, and Madison said that it was an advantage for her at UH. During her freshman and sophomore years, Madison was invited to be a counselor at UH Engineering’s G.R.A.D.E Camp, a STEM summer camp that introduces girls in 8th through 12th grade to science and basic engineering concepts. Here, Madison taught a group of girls to build and program a LEGO robot to navigate through a maze. She told me that this experience of being a mentor to younger aspiring women in STEM inspired her to become a professor, as there aren’t as many women teaching engineering.

Madison is returning to UT Austin in the fall to pursue a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, and to continue research with her professor from REU. She explained that even though she enjoys working on large projects in the industry, the idea of making a small contribution to science with her name attached through research is inimitable.

Trevor Eustaquio

Moving from Guam to Houston in 2014, Trevor Eustaquio was sure he wanted to major in petroleum engineering once deciding to go to school in the heart of the oil and gas industry. Transferring from Lone Star College, Trevor joined the small community of his classmates in this niche major and set foot in the technical coursework taught by industry-experienced professors.

Trevor participated in the PURS program, where he researched liquid loading in gas wells under the mentorship of Dimitrios Georgios Hatzignatiou in Petroleum Engineering. Along with research, Trevor has gained valuable internship experience as a Well Design Solutions Intern at Tenaris the summer before his senior year, and Engineering Analyst Intern at Occidental Petroleum during his final year of undergrad.

He mentioned that his required Production Engineering and Drilling Engineering classes prepared him for his internships, as the data he worked with was related to what he learned in his courses. He was able to learn about these opportunities from company information sessions and webinars hosted by Pi Tau Epsilon — the Petroleum Engineering Honor Society — which he was involved with since his freshman year, and served as president during his senior year.

During our interview, Trevor stressed the importance of professional networking, and how becoming involved with campus organizations and activities allows for valuable avenues and connections to the industry he pursues to work in. Trevor told me he went to every career fair hosted by the Cullen College of Engineering, and through networking at these events, he received interviews and job offers from multiple petroleum companies such as Schlumberger upon graduating.

Regan Persyn

Inspired by her father who is an engineer, as well as having a passion for working in healthcare, Regan Persyn was motivated to get involved throughout her time at UH as a biomedical engineering major. Serving as the vice president of BMES during the pandemic, Regan was promoted to be the interim president of the organization when the previous president stepped down.

Though being thrown into the position and having to fulfill the role solely based on observation, serving as the President of BMES has been a rewarding experience for her. Regan was able to witness the growth of membership from the organization’s transition from virtual to in-person, as well as develop interpersonal soft skills from a leadership position and the opportunity to network with many faculty members from the Biomedical Engineering department.

Along with Go Baby Go, Regan’s favorite experience of BMES was Project CURE, a volunteer program that receives donated medical equipment, such as syringes, wound packs, and incubators, and packages it to developing countries for trauma crises.

When she is not running an organization or engaging in coursework, Regan also works part-time at a fitness studio. She tells me that scheduling time to focus on hobbies that she enjoys outside of class has helped the academic burnout that many engineering students experience.

Following the bionanoscience track of the Biomedical Engineering course plan, Regan has taken classes such as Drug Delivery and Design and Biomedical Microdevices, which have influenced her to pursue a career in the medical device industry, where she looks forward to work on electrical components to engineer the human body.

At the end of each interview, I asked the seniors what made their undergraduate experience memorable, as well as advice for incoming engineering students. They gave me many unique, as well as overlapping answers, so I’ll compile them in a short list.

• Involvement in campus organizations and events. This is a great way to make friends and find a group of people with similar interests.
• Professors that are passionate about the subject they are teaching.
• Discovering what excites you within engineering.
• Whether it be the person sitting next to you in class or an employer at a career fair, make connections with anyone and everyone.
• The IEEE Chili Cook-Off. Every one of them mentioned this!
• Learning from your failures. Seeing academic and personal improvement is satisfying and motivating when you understand how you are as a student.
• Finding a community of classmates knowing you’re all there to support each other.

These are just four of the many success stories from the Cullen College of Engineering. Every semester, a number of students receive their diplomas and set off into their post-grad lives, each with their own individual stories of how they got to UH, what they gained during their time here, and how they embark into their futures with the memories of this institution.