Many people choose to major in engineering for various reasons. Many people wanted to become an engineer because it is an occupation with great rewards and with plenty of opportunities. However, the main reason why I choose to become an engineer is because I want to make a great impact that would benefit an entire society. I knew since I was a kid that is what I want to become when I grow up.
By adapting the qualities of a “world-class” engineering student, I would be able to have the right skills to make a great impact in our world. The definition of “world-class” engineering student can vary between each person. My definition for that term is, “a determined and ambitious person who have the ability to achieve a significant goal which can improve the whole world”. A “world-class” engineering student is also a role model who always have a positive mindset and has the ability to overcome any kinds of adversity.
Even though it may not be easy to find a perfect example of a person who I can considered as a real “worldclass” engineering student, it should still serve an ideal vision for engineering students to pursue My goal as a student is not only to make good enough grades just to pass college, but also my actual goal is to become an excellent and a “world-class” engineering student. Before the start of my first semester, I have set up a road map for me to achieve by the end of my first year. My priority goal is to achieve a perfect 4. 0 GPA by the end of the semester.
And before my graduation year, I want to make at least a 3. 5 GPA. This may be difficult to attain for me, but I think this is what a real “world-class” engineering student should look like. Having a high GPA is not enough to be considered as a “world-class”. I also need to set up goals that enhance my character. My second goal is to become socially active person. By the end of the school year, I am hoping that I would become a different person than I am currently are. A successful engineer also needs to have a great teamwork and leadership skills.
Through my GNEG class, I learned that there are various ways to enhance those skills, like by joining student organizations, by being an active or socially involved, and by applying for internships. Because I am only a freshman student, it may not be easy for me to get accepted for internships, so I think it would be best if I just focus on joining registered student organizations for now. One of my other goal this year is to join at least two student organizations. Fortunately, I already become a member of one student organization. It’s called the FIRST LEGO League, which is a group of engineering students who organizes and volunteers for F.
I. R. S. T robotics events throughout the state of Arkansas. Community building is a crucial aspect of being a “world-class” engineer. Networking is one is important when it comes to community building. I have learned that becoming a successful person cannot be achieved by oneself. Someone told me before, that “network equals net worth”. A “world-class” engineering student have a great networking skills. Having a network between various kinds of people is very important because they are basically the ones that will guide me towards achieving success.
Those people may consist of professors, advisors, highlevel students, and even my peers. They are the people who can help me on handling problems. They may also be the ones that can give the opportunities that can lead to my success. From time to time, I try to improve my relationships with all of my professors. I used to think that it will be really hard to get in touch with college professors, but now, I would say that I currently have a great connection with all of them. It would also be beneficial for me if I always keep my friends close, especially the ones that are majoring in engineering .
Joining co-curricular activities or doing community service is also a part of community building. One of my proud accomplishment this semester is being able to become a member of Volunteering Action Center (VAC). I am proud that I have spent more than twenty hours of volunteering this semester even if nobody is requiring me to do any volunteering hours. During the “Make A Difference” day, I was able to work in three different volunteering activities in one day, that happened from 7:00 to 4:00pm. I was proud of myself during that day as I was able to show a true quality of a “world-class” student.
Nothing makes me happier than being able to contribute and make an impact to the community, which goes back to one of my purpose of becoming an engineer . I am hoping to work on more volunteering activities in the future, even if I do not get any compensation or reward for doing them. By knowing that I am able to make an impact through volunteering is one of the instances that motivates me to persevere more on becoming an engineer. I knew that becoming “world-class” engineering student is not going to be easy, considering that engineering is one of the hardest major in college.
I must admit that I am not yet an excellent student that have the same exact skills as a “worldclass” student, but I am improving much faster than what I really expected. Since the beginning of the semester, I have made plenty of developments in my academics. But there are still more things about me that I want to improve. Because I am new in this country, the first thing that certainly needs to improve about myself is my English language skills. Back then, I used to avoid anything that deals with English writing or English speaking because I knew that I will eventually fail at it.
Whenever I was in an English class, I tend to receive low grades because I was usually nervous and usually had a low selfconfidence. However, When I learned that communication skills are one of the main qualities of a successful engineer, I realize to myself that it is very important that I heavily focus on improving my communication skills. Because I am not good at English class, I usually try to read ahead, so that I could easily understand the topic for the next class. And instead of avoiding to work on more English activities, I now try to spend more time improving my English skills.
Even though I considered those skills as one of my worst weaknesses, I am willing to improve those weaknesses in order for me to really become a “worldclass” engineering student. If I realize that I am not doing well in a class, I usually try to change my learning styles. The other main skill that I need to improve is my mathematical skills. During most of my high school years, I did not take any of my math classes very seriously. I was a different person back then; I was not able to realize how math is one of the crucial foundation for achieving my dream of becoming a successful engineer.
As a result, I have a poor math preparation for college. By the end of my senior year in high school, I vowed to myself that I have to make some serious change for improving my math skills. I want to make up for all the things that I should have learned by studying more . Since then, I rapidly learned so much topics and ideas about math that I never payed attention to back in high school. I significantly changed my studying behavior towards math. Today, I am currently trying to use many available resources for students in order to enhance my knowledge in math.
I usually go to the library at least once a day to study. I regularly come to the Math Teaching Center (MRTC) when I am having difficulty solving problems on an assignment. Even though my College Algebra course does not require a book, am currently borrowing two books of College Algebra. I also spend hours studying a single topic in college algebra, just so | could understand all of the concepts thoroughly. I considered College Algebra as the basic foundation of Engineering and that is the reason why I always have to make sure that I will become expert at it.
I would not be able to consider myself as a “worldclass” engineering student if I am not even great at handling College Algebra problems. The course that I am really confident at right now is my Principles of Biology class. Unlike English or math where I still have a lot to improve, I am proud of myself that I am doing really great towards science. Although some students who took the same class says that it is difficult, I am still able to get a decent grade. I receive those good grades not just because I am very knowledgeable at science, but also because I frequently use all the advice that I learned from different people.
Many people told me to take advantage of all the help I can get from the university. Even if I am taking an online course, I usually visit my biology professor whenever I am having difficulty on understanding a topic from biology. Also as a result, I have a good connection to my biology teacher even though he has about more than a thousand students. I am proud that my studying habits towards science is not far from the qualities of a “world-class” student. There are also some examples of poor behaviors that I still need to improve.
One of those behavior is procrastination, which is definitely an opposite characteristic of a “world-class” engineering student. Most of the time, I usually wasted plenty amount of time because of procrastination and also by doing other activities that is not related to any of my academics. One of the ways that helped me to improve my procrastination is by studying the Chapter 5 of my “Studying Engineering” book, which helped me understand more information about procrastination and learned new ways to improve that behavior. And because of that, I also realized that my “Studying Engineering” book is more useful than I expected.
In fact, most of my negative behaviors can be improve if I thoughtfully study the whole book. I learned plenty of meaningful information from the book that enables me to improve my whole character. Being a college student can be very stressful, especially for an engineering student. It is essential for any college students to maintain their good health, whether if it is mentally, physically, or psychologically. I believe that a “world-class” engineering student always have a good mental health, as they are more energetic and more engaged with plenty of different activities.
One of the best and basic method of keeping a good health is to have a decent amount of sleep. Throughout the semester, 1 noticed that the amount of sleep can affect my performance in the next day. By having a decent amount of sleep, I am able to wake up in the morning with an enthusiastic behavior and with a mentally prepared mindset for that can last a whole day. whenever I did not get enough sleep, however, I usually feel sluggish and lazy. I have to admit that I do not usually get enough sleep every day, which can sometimes affect my academic performance.
My sleeping issue is one of the things that I really need to improve as they can have a significant effect to my academic performance if it gets worse. Another way of improving the mental health of a person is by doing many physical activities. Physical activities can directly help reduce the stress of a person. Luckily for me, I am currently residing at Pomfret hall, which is near the HPER building of the campus. Through working out at HPER building, I can easily improve both of my mental and physical health, which is essential factor for becoming a “world-class” engineering student”.