2021 ESD Writing Contest Winners

TIP 6: OFFER ASSISTANCE

If you are experienced, you can offer guidance to others. This can be as simple as introducing the person you just met to someone else with similar interests or to a potential future employer. You could suggest a resource which you found useful. This could be a book, website, article, etc.

TIP 7: FOLLOW UP AND ENJOY

Follow up with your new-found connections for best outcomes. Send a short email or text stating that you enjoyed meeting them, thank them for their time and comment on one of the topics you discussed. Perhaps you can recommend a related article or ask them another question to further the discussion. You could also share something that you learned about at the event, especially if it was related to one of their recommendations or interests.

Now go ahead and enjoy your next networking event with confidence!

Additional sources for networking questions:

% Heathfield, Susan M. “Icebreakers for Meetings and Getting to Know Each Other” https:// www.thebalance.com/icebreakers-for-meetings-1918411, Updated May 24, 2016 % Hedges, Kristi. “Six Icebreakers That Take the Pain Out of Networking” http://www.forbes. com/sites/work-in-progress/2013/08/30/ six-icebreakers-that-take-the-pain-out-of-networking-events/#67b8c84c5830, August 30, 2013 % Young Entrepreneur Council, “8 Go-To Icebreaker Questions for Your Next Networking Event” http://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/8-go-to-icebreaker-questions-foryour-next-networking-event.html, July 6, 2015

Janice K. Means, PE, LEED AP, FESD, FASHRAE, is an experienced educator and engineer. She has consulted internationally for analyzing blasting effects to pipelines and energy sustainability and taught environmental and alternative energy courses at university level. She is Professor Emerita at Lawrence Technological University. A 2021 Engineering Society of Detroit Gold Awardee, she is also a member of the TechCentury Editorial Board and past recipient of the John G. Petty Image Award.

2021 ESD Writing Contest

WINNERS T

he Engineering Society of Detroit is pleased to announce the winners of the second annual ESD Engineering Student Writing Contest.

To promote and engage student voices and ideas about the profession of engineering, the Society launched the contest in 2018. Open to all engineering students attending Michigan universities and studying within any of the engineering and related disciplines, the top three entries follow.

The students were asked to address one of three topics in an essay. The top award-winning essay, written by Julian Blank, a graduate student at Michigan State University, will receive a $1,000 scholarship, sponsored by Fishman Stewart, and recognition at the 2022 Gold Award Reception.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this competition, which was judged by members of the TechCentury Editorial Board. Please enjoy reading the top three essays from these promising engineers!

The themes for next year’s competition will be announced in the summer and will have a fall deadline. For more information on the contest please visit esd.org or email Susan Thwing at sthwing@esd.org.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR:

ESD WRITING CONTEST FIRST PLACE

JULIAN BLANK is a graduate student in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Michigan State University, with an anticipated graduation date of May 2022. Julian answered the question, “What is something positive that came out of the last 18 months of living in the pandemic world?”

A Small Request

During the last 18 months of living in this pandemic world, things have changed unpredictably. Besides direct negative consequences of the pandemic such as an increase in mortality, unemployment rate, or depression, the news was full of articles with headlines “a wasted year” as it seemed to have been perceived by most people. Now one might ask, how can someone see anything positive in this? Well, is there anything positive about one’s car breaking down, a student being kicked out of college, or a failed relationship? For some readers, these may sound like silly examples compared to what they were going through recently; however, the point I want to make is that we have to accept good and not-so-good events happening to us in life. More importantly, we have to reflect on what (negative) past events teach us for the future.

Appreciation. The phenomenon of humans desiring to have what they cannot get is well-known. You might remember when restaurants, bars, movie theaters, and gyms were temporarily closed by the Executive Order 2020-9. A time which made us realize how we are used to our lifestyle. I admit I have missed going to all of these places as well; however, something else has shaped my pandemic experience a lot more. My grandfather from Germany had quite surprisingly passed away on Valentine’s Day in 2020, just before the pandemic truly hit—as he would have known and planned it that way. At this point, public funerals were still permitted, and no travel restrictions had been issued yet.

So how did the pandemic impact my feelings about these circumstances? I appreciate having been able to book an overpriced flight worth more than two months’ rent payments for a four-day stay; I appreciate having been stuck in an airplane for nine hours and being jet-lagged my entire visit; I appreciate having had the chance to attend the funeral and to celebrate my grandfather’s life at the Leichenschmaus (funeral feast) together with my extended family.

Nevertheless, I also know that many of us were not as “lucky” as I was and have missed one-time events with loved ones. But instead of complaining about what is missing in our lives, let us not forget to appreciate what we already have.

Adaptation. A change is also always a chance for something new, and the question to be asked is how to react to it. I was in the third year of my PhD when the pandemic hit, and besides writing my dissertation, I was working as a teaching assistant. From one day to another, it was clear my life would be different in the next months: working remotely and transitioning to online teaching. Have I enjoyed spending all day in a 120-square-foot room and listening to my roommate practicing clarinet? Definitely not. Have I bought noise-canceling headphones, put up a large painting on my wall behind me as a mood booster, and lit a candle to have a homey feeling, making the best out of the current situation? Yes, I did. And I claim by no means that the transition to online teaching was easy and smooth. But the entirely new situation came along with new skills to learn; for example, to explain content remotely using a drawing tablet, manage multiple break-out rooms at a time, or create and proctor an online exam. Adaptations can be inconvenient but are necessary, and quickly adjusting to a new situation is a valuable skill and one factor for success in our lives.

A negative event or period of time can have positives: the broken-down car fixed by a mechanic might have prevented a more severe accident; the student who got kicked out of college might have founded a successful startup; the failed relationship might have been just at the right time to meet your future wife or husband. Yes, I have used the word “might” three sentences in a row because it depends on how one reacts to unforeseen events; there is no guarantee but also no reason to give up. And finally, a small request: in a few years or decades, when you talk to your grandchildren about this pandemic, sure tell them how wasteful the time was if this was your perception, but do not forget to mention how your lessons learned made you who you are today.

ESD WRITING CONTEST RUNNER UP

LOGAN JORGENSEN is an automotive engineering student at Ferris State University. Logan also answered the question “What is something positive that came out of the last 18 months of living in the pandemic world?”

COVID-19 Pandemic: The Good Stories You Do Not Hear About

“In the age of information, ignorance is a choice.” – Donald Miller, StoryWorks CEO and author

The COVID-19 pandemic began in the second half of my junior year of high school, when I was still unsure where I wanted to take my life after high school. I already had a keen interest in cars and mechanics and had enjoyed the past two years employed at a go kart track where small engine repair was a daily affair. With a few months of high school auto shop class under my belt, I was learning new skills and enjoying the challenge of solving automotive problems. I became inspired to purchase a 1982 Pontiac Firebird to fix up as I learned.

However, right when I was starting to develop confidence working on cars, the pandemic hit, and we students were sent home. I initially feared it would be a major stumbling block to my automotive career, and for a while it certainly was. Online automotive instruction is not nearly as effective as in person, since computer work cannot replicate the muscle memory and hands-on experience that working in a shop environment provides. Since I suddenly had plenty of time on my hands, as well as the drive and interest, I was determined to continue my education on my own.

This seemed like a huge obstacle at first, but through email advice from my automotive instructor, plus books, YouTube videos, and trial and error, I began to fix my car at home. Already, the Firebird was approaching 38 years old and needed plenty of repairs. To fund this project, I began to collect lawn mowers from the local junk yard to repair and sell for profit. At this point, I was not only learning the service side of the trade, but also business, marketing, entrepreneurship and people skills. For example, once I completed a mower, I still had to clean it up, capture clear photos, and craft an enticing description to list it online for sale. Once the listing was complete, I found myself managing responses to messages from potential buyers.

Since COVID shut many manufacturing processes down, the market for used equipment was very strong. I learned firsthand about economics and scarcity. Within an hour of posting my first mower, twelve people sent questions and I sold it immediately. The next time I had a mower ready, I raised the price a little bit more, and still received many messages.

After a few repeats of this price increase scenario, I observed the effects of the law of diminishing marginal returns, and adjusted prices accordingly. This worked out to be an effective way to accumulate funds to continue my car, as well as save for investing in my future.

I began to improve my independent diagnosis and troubleshooting skills and realized I was solving difficult issues without direct help or supervision from an instructor. Each problem forced me to think more deeply and conceptualize the workings of the broken component, which I enjoyed. When needed I researched online and asked professionals for advice. By this time, I was actively considering the automotive field, but I was unsure if I wanted to pursue a career as a mechanic or apply to college. I found the engineering side of automotive very intriguing, and wanted to learn more, but the college search process seemed overwhelming.

One year and many mower projects later, nearing graduation from the high school auto shop program, I earned an excellence award. Still, the looming deadline of college applications plagued me. College seemed very expensive, but I was unsure if a shop job as a mechanic was the best fit. My automotive instructor sensed my hesitation and suggested I could have the advantage of both worlds. He referred me for a summer job at a local repair shop where I gained practical experience. He introduced me to the Automotive Engineering Technology program at Ferris, the school he had attended. I was unaware that such a program existed, and after reviewing the course content, I was convinced to try it.

I am so glad I applied and was accepted. Three months in, I retain the same passion for learning that I held at the beginning of the pandemic. The last eighteen months have been difficult for everyone, but I am grateful that this experience compelled me to become an independent learner with a drive to succeed in the engineering field.

ESD WRITING CONTEST RUNNER UP

VICENTE AMADO OLIVO is a graduate student studying Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University with an anticipated graduation date of May 2026. He also answered, “What is something positive that came out of the last 18 months of living in the pandemic world?”

Honoring Sacrifices and Making Room for Dreams

Before the pandemic, the only thing I knew about coding was that it was complicated.

As the son of immigrants, and an immigrant myself, the only career I had ever considered was the career my father had chosen for me: finance. Yet only a year before I was set to graduate, I realized I was missing something that a future in finance could not provide. I craved a career in which I could address and solve real-life problems with creativity, and the pandemic unexpectedly gave me the freedom to take a chance on this desire.

This is the story of how I entered the pandemic as a third-year finance major, unsure of my future, and became a first-year PhD student pursuing data science, passionate about my work in machine learning, and excited about the future and impact that awaits me, all while discovering myself along the way.

I was only two years old when I left Venezuela. My family had just said goodbye to our home, immigrating to the United States in search of safety and new opportunities. However, little did I know that I would never really feel at home again. I was never “Venezuelan enough” to call Caracas home, nor “American enough” to fully find my place in the United States. I was from neither here, nor there—ni de aquí, ni de allà. So, at two years old, I began my lifetime of trying to place myself within these contrasting identities, attempting to honor both the sacrifice my parents had made and my own dreams, feeling, most times, that I was inadequate at doing either.

I entered my freshman year of college without a clear plan. My father had always pressured my brother and me to follow the same path to a career that was stable. He believed that if we followed the same blueprint, we would both be successful. When my brother was accepted to college after working as a cashier at the local grocery store, my father insisted I work the same job. This theme continued, and I felt pressure to choose the same path as my brother, so I entered college with the same major in finance.

However, as I progressed through college, my journey in finance was never a good fit. I wanted to feel more fulfilled in my academic pursuit, so I met with a finance professor to discuss ways that I could get more out of my education.

Professor Tessmer spoke to me about the changing landscape in finance and how a background in programming would be necessary to stay ahead. I began coding for the first time in January of 2020 and struggled through a new way of thinking. One day after class, I asked the professor of my data science class a question about Python, and he convinced me to use machine learning for my final project with his help.

Shortly after, my summer internship in finance was canceled due to COVID. Lost in what to do, I asked my professor how I could bolster my programming skills as my summer was empty and I couldn’t let it go to waste. That professor put me in contact with the person who would become my PhD advisor, Wolfgang Kerzendorf, a data science professor at MSU. This introduction in May of 2020 drastically changed the trajectory of my career path. Instead of continuing to pursue finance as planned, I was accepted into a PhD program at MSU.

The semester before the pandemic began was the most stressful semester of my undergraduate degree. I felt considerable pressure to follow the path my father had paved for me instead of searching for a career that fulfilled my dreams. However, unexpectedly, the pandemic allowed me to take a breath and take a chance on something new. I never would have shifted from finance to computational science if I didn’t take a chance on a programming class, or if my professor hadn’t taken a chance on me.

The sacrifice my parents made to leave everything they knew and find a safer and better opportunity for our family has always weighed on my educational decisions. However, learning from their example, I was able to take risks of my own, leaving behind the past to pursue a future in a field I knew little about. Through my journey in research, I have made my parents proud and built a unique future for myself, honoring their sacrifices and making room for my own.