DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Final Thoughts

 

As a Software Engineer, I have a lot of flexibility of where I can apply my skills and still be useful. By having this flexibility, I was able to accomplish my goals without derailing my studies by having significantly more experiences during my normal class time. For example, I was able to use my capstone project as my research component because I was able to pick a project that is working on brand new technology and it counts for two classes in my core course work. This flexibility allowed me to experience a wide breadth of experiences that contributed to my theme, but the common theme linking all of them together was the soft skills I learned.

 

Though my experiences were rooted in the idea for engineering the tools of scientific discovery, a lot of my experiences taught me most on how to contribute to this theme. A perfect example of this would be my experience in my entrepreneurial experiences. In FSE294, my partner and I approached the class with the idea that we would develop a technology to enhance interacting with the virtual world more intuitive. Through this class, while we may have failed with the designs, I learned the soft skills on how to make my prototyping journey easier. In FSE301, we tried to use robotics and technology to automate the process of gathering, sorting, cleaning, and storing dishes as our thought product. We most definitely failed in those designs, but the act of simulating an idea using these cutting edge technologies while learning how to market our idea taught me a lot for the realm I am in. In some cases, like my Fulton Ambassador experience, there is no obvious connection to my theme. However, the skills learned in the Fulton Ambassadors taught me the soft skills to inspire people with the type of work that I am doing, potentially bringing more attention and people who want to work on the various grand challenges of engineering. So even though it is not obvious, each of these experiences made me a well-rounded engineer that was more effective at tackling this subject. After all, my final experience is my capstone project, and it has been my largest design success.

 

While participating in the Grand Challenge Scholars Program, some of the components were more difficult than others to complete. While FSE150 contributed to my interdisciplinary component, making it halfway completed, the interdisciplinary component was by far the most difficult to complete. Finding a meaningful way to interact with people that are not engineers while still offering your strongest skills, balancing the already high pressure course work, and a job is very difficult. When you factor in that I live on a campus that had been predominantly engineering students, this made the component a challenge. While I enjoyed my time living in the Startup Village, I felt that there was more I should have done and contributed to outside of my sphere of knowledge. 

 

My largest motivator for completing the Grand Challenge Scholars Program was the exposure I was getting in areas outside of my standard course work. There were times that I questioned why I was staying in the program with the amount of extra work it had caused me, but then I would be in one of the experiences for the required components and I would answer my own question: it was fun and I would not have known about it had I not been in the program. When I was afforded the opportunity to help kids and travel to Samoa, or when I had to manage a group of 12 rowdy boys by myself; it was those experiences that made me think “this is why I want to finish this program.” While some of my experiences were more educational in nature, like my study abroad trip or either of my entrepreneurial classes, I had a great time with the challenge of them. All of these experiences, while not necessarily being as useful to me in my field as a “Software Engineer,” were incredibly useful to me as someone who is trying to enter the workforce so he can make a difference in the world.

 

It is because of these experiences that, while incredibly difficult at times, I can honestly say I loved this program. It was incredibly valuable to me and gave me memories I will always cherish. If I could do it all over and only participate in one program for fun, it would definitely be this program. This is the only program I know that as part of its requirements, has you branch out and try a lot of different things. I am eager to take my newfound knowledge that I have gained in the past four years as both an engineering student and a Grand Challenge Scholar and apply it to something that will make the world a better place. What makes me the happiest is that through this program, I discovered my love of helping build these new technologies. Plus, through my internship at Intel, I have gotten a great start by helping create the technology to enable autonomous cars. I cannot think of a better outcome from my time in college.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.