My Story
Everyone’s path into engineering is different—mine has been shaped by curiosity, hands-on experiences, and a love for solving complex problems. From building my first robot in high school to studying computer engineering at the University of Michigan, my journey has taken me through unexpected challenges and exciting opportunities. Along the way, I’ve explored everything from robotics and hardware design to research, teaching, and even studying abroad in Germany. This page is a reflection of that journey—the experiences that shaped me, the lessons I learned, and the passions that continue to drive me forward.
First Robotics
My journey into engineering started with robotics in high school. It was my first experience with programming and wiring, and I was instantly hooked. I loved the problem-solving aspect of coding and the hands-on nature of working with hardware. The thrill of seeing a robot come to life—one that I had programmed and assembled—was unlike anything I had experienced before. It sparked my passion for engineering and set me on the path I am on today.
BPA
While I loved engineering, I also understood the importance of business, thanks to my involvement in Business Professionals of America (BPA). Through BPA, I gained valuable insights into teamwork, leadership, and the fundamentals of business strategy. It helped me realize that technical knowledge alone wasn’t enough—understanding how technology fits into the larger business landscape was just as crucial.
Midwest Computer Resources
During high school, I started working as an electrician, installing and wiring school Wi-Fi networks. This hands-on work gave me an appreciation for networking and IT infrastructure. On top of that, I worked IT support, answering calls and troubleshooting issues for major companies like CVS and Macy’s. Whether it was reinstalling systems or fixing connectivity problems, I gained real-world experience in diagnosing and resolving technical challenges.
The job wasn’t easy—being the youngest worker, the only woman on site, and physically smaller than everyone else came with its own set of challenges. I had to prove myself in an environment where strength and experience were valued, often carrying heavy equipment, working in cramped spaces, and learning to navigate an industry that wasn’t always welcoming. But those same challenges also became advantages. My size meant I could fit into tight spots that others couldn’t, making tasks like running cables through ceilings and accessing hard-to-reach network racks much easier. I also learned how to work efficiently, relying on problem-solving skills and precision rather than brute force.
As I gained experience, I was entrusted with running my own job sites and managing projects from start to finish. Completing a contract from beginning to end not only honed my technical and organizational abilities but also reinforced my leadership and project management skills. This responsibility deepened my understanding of budgeting, scheduling, and the importance of clear communication with both clients and team members.
Beyond the technical expertise, these experiences taught me the value of teamwork and adaptability. Working alongside seasoned electricians and IT professionals highlighted the importance of clear communication, precision, and maintaining composure under pressure. Ultimately, these challenges and opportunities helped shape my ability to advocate for myself in professional spaces and approach every new challenge with confidence.
Caregiver
In addition to my technical jobs, I worked as a caregiver during high school, providing care for a quadriplegic individual. This experience taught me patience, empathy, and the importance of adaptability. Balancing caregiving with my technical work made me realize that engineering is about more than just building things—it’s about improving lives.
Color Guard
I joined the color guard team as a freshman and, by my junior year, became a co-captain. This role was my first experience in leadership, where I learned how to guide a team, manage responsibilities, and foster collaboration. It was an incredibly rewarding experience that taught me discipline, teamwork, and perseverance.
A Love for Music
Music has been a constant in my life since elementary school when I first picked up the cello. Playing the cello became a creative outlet, a way to express myself beyond coding and robotics. Balancing music with my technical interests gave me a well-rounded perspective, reinforcing the importance of both logic and creativity.
Choosing a University
When it came time to choose a college, I ultimately decided on the University of Michigan, drawn to its strong engineering program and vibrant campus community. Initially, I planned to study computer science, but after my first university robotics course, I realized I was more drawn to the hardware side of computing. That realization led me to switch my major to computer engineering, where I could explore both software and hardware at a deeper level.
Teaching Cello
In my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to teach another student how to play the cello, an instrument I had been playing since elementary school. Teaching someone else was a completely different experience from learning on my own—it required patience, creativity, and the ability to break down complex techniques into simple, understandable steps. I worked with them on everything from proper bowing technique to reading music and developing a strong tone. Seeing their progress over time was incredibly rewarding, and it made me appreciate just how much music had shaped my own life. This experience also reinforced my love for mentorship and teaching, something that would later influence my role as an instructional assistant in college.
Course Highlights
ENGR 100 - Introduction to Engineering
ENGR 100 was my first real exposure to engineering problem-solving at the college level. Through hands-on projects and collaborative work, I learned how to approach design challenges, communicate technical ideas, and work effectively in teams.
EECS 270 - Introduction to Logic Design
This course introduced me to Verilog and FPGA design. It was the first time I got to design digital circuits, and I found myself fascinated by how simple logic gates could be combined to create complex, functional systems.
EECS 312 - Integrated Circuits
This course focused on semiconductor physics and MOS circuits, deepening my understanding of how chips are designed and manufactured. I gained a new appreciation for the physical layer of computing systems.
EECS 427 - VLSI Design
EECS 427 took my circuit design skills to the next level. I learned about the intricacies of VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) and got hands-on experience designing and optimizing circuits at the transistor level
Note: this image is a stock photo off google. If you would like to know more about this course Id love to discuss it but with and NDA I cannot share the images. Feel free to reach out with questions.
EECS 442 - Computer Vision
One of the most exciting courses I took, EECS 442 introduced me to the field of computer vision. I explored how machines process and interpret images, applying concepts like edge detection, feature extraction, and deep learning for visual recognition.
EECS 471 - Applied Parallel Programming with GPUs
This course was a deep dive into parallel computing, focusing on how GPUs can be leveraged for high-performance applications. I learned how to write efficient parallel code using CUDA, exploring concepts like thread-level parallelism, memory hierarchy optimization, and load balancing. One of the most exciting aspects was implementing real-world algorithms in a massively parallel fashion, seeing firsthand how computation can be accelerated with the right optimizations. Working on projects that pushed the limits of performance taught me valuable skills in low-level optimization and hardware-aware programming, reinforcing my passion for systems-level engineering.
Community involvement
I have always believed in giving back to my community. As a member of Best Buddies, I worked to foster friendships and support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Additionally, I volunteered at the Maize and Blue Cupboard, a food resource for the Ann Arbor community, helping provide essential supplies to those in need.
Teaching and Course Development
I spent three years as an Instructional Assistant (IA) for ROB 101, a linear algebra-based robotics course. Eventually, I transitioned into an even bigger role—helping Professor Jessy Grizzle design a new calculus course specifically for robotics majors.
This course combined Calculus 1, 2, and 4 (Differential Equations) and was designed to be more hands-on and project-based. I played a key role in building the curriculum, writing homework assignments, and even co-authoring the textbook. Occasionally, I taught class recitations, reinforcing my passion for education. I also had the opportunity to teach ROB 101 at another school, Morehouse College, through a partnership with U-M.
If you want to learn more feel free to contact me.
Leadership Experience
After several semesters as an IA for ROB 101, I took on the challenge of leading a new course pilot. Beyond just teaching, I was responsible for managing a team of IAs, ensuring they were supported and tasks were efficiently distributed.
At first, I assumed leadership was about giving clear directions, but I soon learned that it was more about understanding people’s strengths and helping them thrive. I focused on constructive feedback, balancing accountability with support, and fostering a team culture where everyone felt valued.
Through this experience, I redefined my perspective on leadership—not as a position of authority but as a role centered on guidance and growth.
Embracing Feedback and Growth
Teaching taught me the power of constructive criticism. Early on, I received a long message from my boss detailing everything I had done wrong in a lecture. Initially, it was overwhelming, but it forced me to reflect on my teaching approach.
One major lesson was about the language I used—describing something as "easy" could unintentionally discourage struggling students. This realization made me more intentional about how I communicated, ensuring that I made complex topics feel accessible while still acknowledging their challenges.
By embracing feedback, I became a more effective teacher and a better communicator, a skill that has extended beyond the classroom into every aspect of my work.
Creativity in Teaching
One of my favorite moments as an educator was when I helped design a unique problem set about duck migration distances for a calculus course. At first, it seemed like a strange topic, but it was precisely this unexpectedness that made the assignment engaging.
Instead of treating calculus as an abstract set of equations, we created problems that encouraged real-world thinking. This experience taught me how to balance creativity with clarity, making learning more enjoyable and effective. Seeing students engage with and enjoy the problems was an incredibly rewarding moment, reinforcing my love for both engineering and education.
German Studies and Studying Abroad in Germany
When I started learning German in my second semester of college, I had no idea how deeply it would shape my academic journey. What began as a trial class in German quickly became a personal passion. German not only opened doors to a new culture but also allowed me to explore the intersection of language and engineering. As I progressed in my studies, I became fascinated by how technical concepts are communicated across different languages, especially in fields like computer science and engineering.
Studying abroad in Germany was a transformative experience. Immersing myself in the language and culture pushed me far beyond what I could have learned in a classroom. I had the opportunity to visit engineering companies, explore historical sites, and engage in everyday conversations that strengthened my fluency. One of the most exciting parts of my time abroad was navigating daily life in German—whether it was ordering food, traveling between cities, or discussing coursework with native speakers, every interaction was a learning experience.
One of my most memorable classes was a German engineering course where I learned how to discuss technical concepts like engines and mechanical systems in German. This class challenged me to think about engineering from a linguistic perspective, deepening my understanding of how professionals in different parts of the world communicate complex ideas. The ability to discuss engineering in a second language reinforced my belief in the importance of interdisciplinary learning, where technical expertise and language skills can work together to enhance global collaboration.
Computer Science Research: Developing LearningClues
During my sophomore year, I worked on a research project in computer science, contributing to the development of LearningClues, a tool designed to revolutionize how students study. Under the guidance of Professor Perry Samson, I was part of an interdisciplinary team that applied artificial intelligence and natural language processing to help students navigate their coursework more efficiently.
Our goal was to create a system that could analyze lecture videos, extract key concepts, and generate searchable study guides. This meant leveraging machine learning and data mining techniques to identify important terms, cross-reference them with course materials, and present students with curated learning resources. My work focused on improving the system’s ability to detect relevant concepts in lecture transcripts and making the interface more intuitive for users.
One of the most exciting aspects of this project was seeing its real-world impact. LearningClues was deployed in over 400 courses at the University of Michigan, helping thousands of students streamline their studying process. Working on this research not only strengthened my programming and data analysis skills but also taught me how to approach technical challenges with a human-centered mindset. The experience reinforced my passion for using technology to improve education, and it remains one of the most rewarding projects I have been a part of.
Dining Hall: Learning Through Hard Work
Balancing academics with work has been a core part of my college experience, and one of the most formative jobs I had was working at the university dining hall. It wasn’t a glamorous job—long shifts, fast-paced environments, and constant multitasking—but it taught me lessons that extended far beyond the kitchen.
One of the biggest takeaways from working at the dining hall was the importance of time management and teamwork. Juggling coursework in a demanding engineering program while working shifts taught me how to prioritize effectively and stay organized. Whether I was preparing food, managing dish rotations, or assisting students with dietary needs, I quickly learned that efficiency and clear communication were essential to keeping everything running smoothly.
More than anything, this job gave me a deep appreciation for the people behind the scenes who keep essential systems functioning. It reinforced the idea that every role matters—whether in a dining hall, a research lab, or an engineering team, success comes from people working together toward a common goal. The experience made me a stronger, more adaptable problem solver, skills that I carry with me in both my professional and academic pursuits.
Taco Bell
Working at Taco Bell was a fast-paced, hands-on experience that taught me the value of adaptability and customer service. As a team member, I was responsible for preparing food, maintaining a clean environment, and serving customers quickly and efficiently, all while managing a high volume of orders during busy hours. While the work could be demanding, it provided me with a strong foundation in food safety and customer service, skills that have proven valuable both in the workplace and beyond.
One of the key lessons I learned at Taco Bell was the importance of clear communication and teamwork. Whether it was coordinating with coworkers to prepare orders or assisting customers with special requests, the ability to work seamlessly as part of a team was essential to ensuring customers received their meals in a timely manner. Additionally, the training I received in food safety and service taught me the importance of maintaining high standards in all areas of my work, whether handling food or interacting with customers.
Overall, working at Taco Bell gave me a deeper understanding of the customer experience and the importance of maintaining a positive attitude under pressure. It strengthened my problem-solving abilities, improved my multitasking skills, and taught me how to manage my time effectively—skills I continue to use in both my academic and professional life.
