3 Ways to be a Tufts Engineer

At Tufts, your journey will be unique. You will change majors, passions, and much more during your time on the Hill. Students in the School of Engineering are no different. Our engineers grow dynamically during their time at Tufts. As the folks who will build the bold and exciting world to come, Tufts’ engineers build their own paths and futures. Selvin Lendos ’22, Sruthi Kocherlakota ’23, and Zharia Akeem ’24 are three great examples of how there is no singular way to be an engineer. Your way can be as unique as you wish. —Blake Anderson ’24

SELVIN LENDOS ’22 CIVIL ENGINEERING MAJOR

Portrait of Selvin Lendos

How did you know that you wanted to be an engineer? “Behind my house, there's this piece of land, but nobody uses it. It's just unused city land, and people would just throw away their things there. When I was little, I would go back there and [the litterers] were kind of like my suppliers, because there used to not be anything there. I love building, and so I would just put things together, see things work. I guess I would create things. Even though I didn't think anything of it, I just thought I was having fun. So, when I came to the realization that I actually do want to be an engineer, it just all really made sense.”

How did you pick your major? “I major in civil engineering, with a focus in structural engineering. And I do have a minor in engineering management. For structural engineering, you're designing different structures and buildings for everything around you so that, basically, they won't fall down. I think it's really important because we're basically having some impact on whether somebody's livelihood is devastated or not. If the structure doesn't keep up, you know somebody's business might crash, or somebody's home. Everybody takes advantage of structures and buildings and they're very important to us, even though you might not think about it.”

Why Tufts? “Tufts really cultivates the engineer to be someone who is not just technical, but also well-rounded. You know everything that an engineer might actually need in the world…In the situation of a structural engineer, there are many lives on the line...You can’t think about things on the surface level, you have to think about many things, many steps ahead. So, I always really admired those philosophy students who were always one step ahead and thinking about the future—about how things might change and questioning whether that work was right or wrong. At Tufts, there's a lot to learn.”

How has your perception of engineering changed over time? “Every time we do anything, it is gonna leave a mark. And so, every time I think about [being] an engineer, I think about the responsibility you hold and the mark that you will have on the world. Know your role as an engineer—you impact everybody.”

ZHARIA AKEEM ’24 BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Portrait of Zharia Akeem

What made you apply to Tufts in the first place? “We had a college fair where they brought schools in, and Tufts was one of [them]. I really remembered the [admissions] team being very happy. And it just left a really good impression, so I applied. I had a gut feeling that it was where I was supposed to be—I just really liked the people there, [they] were a really big part of my decision. One of the things I really like about Tufts is how it has engineering and arts classes, so that you just don't burn out as an engineer. I get to take a lot of fun classes and talk to people that are taking a lot of fun classes, and it really makes the experience better and more well-rounded.”

How did you pick your major? “I was really rebellious when I was younger because all the people that I knew were engineers, I was like, ‘I don't want to do that’…when I applied to Tufts, I wanted to do computer science within the School of Engineering, and that didn't work out, so I declared biomedical engineering. Currently, I'm doing pre-med [requirements]. I want to do computational biology, so maybe mixing biology and computer science in that aspect, but then I kind of lean more towards the ‘people’ side of it. I’ve always wanted to go to the army. The way I think about it, I think engineering prepares me for the army because it allows me to think on my feet and create solutions to problems that may seem difficult.”

What’s your interest in the army? “I’ve always had a lot of respect for the uniform. My brothers are in the military so it’s always been an idea. I want to go to an army medical school after my four years of Tufts are over. I’m still open-minded. I’m a first-generation college student which is also very difficult. I think Tufts has made it as easy as possible, especially going into someplace where I didn’t know what to expect.”

How have you found engineering at Tufts to be helpful and accommodating? “Especially in our engineering classes, I got a feel for how much Tufts is trying to make engineering as inclusive as possible. We have a lot of discussions in our classes about equity, how to make sure that everyone's included in engineering, and how to talk and have discussions with people. That's probably one of the things that I've enjoyed this last semester, just having conversations with people about diversity and how to make products and engineering programs work for all different types of people.”

SRUTHI KOCHERLAKOTA ’23 HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING

Portrait of Sruthi Kocherlakota

How did you decide on human factors engineering? “I actually applied to most colleges thinking [that] I was going to be a civil engineer, and then, when I got to Tufts, I was like, ‘I'm going to do mechanical engineering just because I did a lot of robotics in high school and I just enjoy the design process.’ I was talking to my advisor and he suggested I look at the human factors program, which is a lot of design work, which I really love. There's a really cool intersection between art and graphic design [that] interested me. And Tufts is one of the only schools that offers a program like that.”

What drew you to the School of Engineering? “I know it can be a wild concept to actually enjoy school, but I really enjoyed the group projects that I've done…I think that it kind of makes you take away that fear or that worry that you're ‘competing’ with your peers. I think engineering is inherently very collaborative—and it should be that way. If you think about designing a car, for example, you need all sorts of engineers to do that, and also people who aren't engineers. Tufts really values the interaction between engineering students that are majoring in different things. Because the engineering school at Tufts is super small, they're able to foster that kind of community.”

Why Tufts? “Tufts engineering is very interdisciplinary. I came to Jumbo Days and I went to one of the engineering presentations where some seniors were presenting project-based work. You could tell that they were all really passionate about what they were doing and spoke fondly of their Tufts engineering experiences— which really was attractive for me. Looking back, I guess, especially because I'm majoring in human factors, if I had gone to a different school, I probably wouldn't even be in the engineering school. I really like that I can pursue lots of different avenues as an engineer here. I don't have to only do engineering; I can explore some of the intersections—and do other things that are completely unrelated.”

How did you pick your major? “The field has applications in product design and UI/ UX design, which is like user interface or user experience design, so basically how you can design apps or products for humans to use, because a lot of the time people don't realize that there's a psychological component to when people are interacting with technology. [Human factors engineering] is pretty broad in the sense that you take a lot of psych classes, you take a lot of design classes, [and] you take a lot of engineering and technical classes. There are lots of different avenues that people can go into within the field.”