July 2010
Q: When were you involved in MESA and how did you hear about it?
A: I started with MESA at Fern Bacon Middle School in Sacramento. My science teacher invited me to a meeting where a panel of women engineers spoke. At that time, I didn't know what an engineer did. I thought engineers were men that operated trains. I joined the MESA club at Luther Burbank High School (in Sacramento) and became president of the club junior year. As a student at San Jose State University, I was a part of the MESA program there and sometimes judged the (local) high school MESA day) competitions.
Q: Which school did you graduate from and what is the degree?
A: I graduated from San Jose State University in 2004 with a BS in electrical engineering.
Q: What did you gain from being involved in MESA?
A: I gained support, friends, networks, scholarships, internships, and invaluable memories and experiences.
Q: Are you the first in your family to go to college? If yes, how does that feel?
A: Yes, I am. It is a good feeling. My family is very proud of me. They think I can fix anything.
Q: Do you remember any special moments, people that stand out from a MESA experience?
A: I remember being so nervous running the MESA club meetings in high school and my advisor (Mr. Jacobs) teaching me the proper meeting etiquette. I remember judging MESA competitions and being amazed at what the students create. I remember studying for hours into the night in the MESA study room with all the other MESA students. I remember running into the MESA office to talk to my advisor, Horacio Alfaro, about a problem or an achievement of mine. I remember receiving awards at the MESA banquets and forgetting my speeches. They are all great memories and I'm truly blessed for the experience.
Q: What are you doing now?
A: I work for the UC Santa Cruz Educational Partnership Center (EPC). The EPC is a an umbrella organization that provide academic preparation programs serving students, teachers, and families from kindergarten through college.
I am the Girls in Engineering Program (GIE) Interim Director and the UCSC COSMOS residential program manager. GIE is a two-week summer program that exposes middle school girls to engineering through field trips, hands-on projects and guest speakers. COSMOS is a four-week summer program for high school scholars with an interest in math and science.
I previously managed an engineering outreach program (similar to MESA) at De Anza and Foothill community colleges. I also worked for a program that provided services and activities promoting academic excellence and a college going culture in the high schools.
Q: What advice do you give other students in math, science or engineering fields?
A: Believe in yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to. Anything that is worth having, you must work for. Manage your time well. Communication skills can be neglected in these fields of study, make sure you take the time to develop and maintain those skills. You will need it!
Q: What does MESA mean to you?
A: MESA means the world to me. I don't think I would have become an engineer without MESA because I didn't know what an engineer was. As a result, I might not have the privilege to work at Hewlett-Packard or NASA. I probably wouldn't have met the same wonderful people that have crossed my path nor had the same opportunities open up to me. I think my life would have been totally different.
I definitely owe a great deal to the MESA program. I just hope I can support students just as much as the MESA program has supported me.
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