This essay was shared with permission by Taylor Hildreth, a rising MSE Junior, with minor editing to fit.
I cannot believe I am already a rising junior at NC State this fall and therefore starting the second half of my undergraduate career next week. With that being said, I’d like to take the time to express my appreciation for the opportunities North Carolina State University has for undergraduate students, by showcasing all the experiences I have participated in so far at NC State.
In my freshman year, I was accepted to the NAE Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) at NC State, directed by Dr. Olgha Qaqish, Ph.D., which surrounded me with a fantastic community of enthusiastic and supportive engineering students and faculty. During the spring semester of that year, I worked on an Assistive Device Engineering Project for the annual First-Year Engineering Design Day (FEDD) at NC State. My group focused on developing a shock-absorbent spoon for those with Parkinson’s Disease and won Honorable Mention at FEDD. From this experience, I chose to pursue working on the theme of Health and the Grand Challenge of Advance Health Informatics for GCSP, allowing me to find Dr. Kate Saul’s Movement Biomechanics Lab (MoBL), where I worked as an undergraduate researcher to complete my first GCSP Summer REU in 2022.
In my sophomore year, I officially joined the NC State Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) as an undergraduate student majoring in MSE with a concentration in Biomaterials, and I have loved every minute of it. I was also able to become a member of the NC State Club Softball team and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at NCSU during this year, which has allowed me to become more involved on campus at NC State. During the spring semester, I continued working in the MoBL as an undergraduate research assistant and was able to get more comfortable conveying research concepts, techniques, and findings by presenting at the OUR 2023 Spring Symposium. In February, I was able to attend the 2023 GCSP Network Annual Meeting in Arizona, which allowed me to once again present research I had participated in and connect with professional engineers and other GCSP students, faculty, and alumni. Wrapping up, my first half experience, I just recently completed my second GCSP Summer REU continuing with the MoBL, allowing me to have three semesters of undergraduate research under my belt going into my junior year.
I could not thank NC State and all the faculty enough for all these experiences. To say that I am loving my time here at NC State would be an understatement, as I am soaking in all the opportunities and knowledge the NC State College of Engineering has to offer! I cannot wait to see what the next two years have in store for me! Go Pack!
