A new chapter in life, a new journey, a new set of challenges-and a new set of worries. But getting through engineering at the University of Miami might be as easy as one, two, three, so make sure to keep these three resources in mind so that your experience in engineering will be significantly smoother.
1. The advising office knows all
The first place freshmen will visit is the advising office. Whether you know what you’re doing or not, this office will help guide you no matter how far along in your degree you are. They are the ones that see you register for your first class and receive your diploma at commencement. They will also give you two of the most valuable assets you can have: advice on which classes to take and your peer advisor.
2. Get involved
College isn’t all about classes and studying; it is also about making friends, having a good time and contributing when you can. How are you going to meet people and how will you fill up your limited-but-precious free time?
“No matter what you’re studying, getting involved in a student organization will help enrich your collegiate experience and will open many doors for you no matter what you want to do,” Tyler Ingold, industrial engineering major, said. “Getting involved is an easy way to do what you love to do and help the University at the same time.”
Do you want to be a part of Homecoming, do you want to help put on National Engineers Week, and do you want to show the rest of the University that engineers are the ones leading the way? Then joining the Engineering Advisory Board might just be the best option for you. This is the umbrella organization where all engineering groups come to put on events together and to participate in campus wide events.
3. Get connected
Start career planning early. The College of Engineering is fortunate enough to have its own career connection in one person, Ann Helmers. Make sure to get your resume ready during freshman year and talk to Helmers about where you want to go in the future.
“I’m here to make sure students get connected with job opportunities and internship opportunities that are available to them,” Helmers said. “It is important to remember that I’m not the one that gets students jobs, they get the jobs themselves. I’m just here to act as a liaison for that opportunity.”
No matter where you’re going, how you’re meeting people, or how you’re getting connected, remember that all engineers have that special late-night-physics-studying mouse-trap-car-building bond that helps make them unique. When some students say the glass is half full, others will say it is half empty, but only the engineering students say the glass is twice as large as it needs to be.
Paty Escuder can be contacted at
p.escuder@umiami.edu.