I strongly believe that the future of engineering and technical innovation will be highly interdisciplinary. Unlike most engineering undergraduates, I have extensive experience in another seemingly unrelated discipline – cognitive psychology. It wasn’t until the last few semesters of my first degree that I realized how interested I was in engineering and physics, as well as how people understand such abstract phenomena and apply it to real-world challenges. As a lover of learning and opportunity, I decided to continue my studies and complete an engineering degree. While at first it was daring and experimental, I absolutely love what I’ve learned and believe that engineering is the right path for my future; it is an honor each day to feel that I have the ability to help make a positive difference in the world and progression of our species. While I know that my career path will be one in engineering, I find that my experience in psychology aids my interdisciplinary perspective and improves the imperative group communication necessary for a successful design team.

My experience with the ASU/NASA Space Grant program over the past year has given me invaluable hands-on experience with real-world problem solving; not only have I had the opportunity to apply my growing technical knowledge, but I have learned about the reality of the design process and research protocol. My project in the Human-Oriented Robotics and Control Lab has been very successful thus far, reassuring me that research is something I could devote my life to. So far, my project has been presented at the 2013 Piper Health Solutions Rehabilitation Robotics Conference and is currently pending acceptance for the 2013 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference at Stanford University. Aside from my research project over the past year, I have worked many different jobs, ranging from positions in other research laboratories at ASU to after-school education programs. My previous jobs and research experience have provided me with skills including data collection and analysis, software literacy, protocol development, organization, leadership ability and group communication skills.