Hey! My name is Maysara AlShareef and I am from Oklahoma City, OK, and a graduate of Putnam City North High School. I am a sophomore in Chemical Bioengineering in the Gallogly College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma.
Just a few years ago, I had just been accepted to a few universities and had no clue about what to do next. Fast forward to a year later, I ended up transferring to OU from a different university. It had always been in the back of my mind that I truly felt at home here on the OU campus, so I finally made the big leap, and I couldn’t have been more right!
Engineering solves real problems that matter!
STEM always felt like the right path for me—my mother is a medical lab scientist and my father is a mechanical engineer. I guess if you put the two together, they really do make a chemical bioengineer! I have always had a passion for the way things are made and for advancing the world from a medical perspective, it just seemed right.
Why come to Norman? Well the atmosphere here in Norman is incredible! I feel like you get the perfect balance of small, exciting things surrounding you, and it’s a short drive to Oklahoma City if you want more options. Additionally, a short, fun day trip takes you to Dallas, TX and back.
And, what isn’t there to like about OU? The campus is absolutely beautiful all year round. Another amazing thing is the rock collection in Sarkey’s Energy Center— studying in the library in that building and taking a short break (or even during a bathroom break during class, we’ve all done it) to take a look at the vast collection that never ceases to take my breath away! There is just something so soothing about the atmosphere in that building— it’s definitely one of my favorite places to be.
I personally believe that anyone at OU can find the exact group of people that’s a good fit for them—there are SO many clubs and organizations; there is no doubt in finding a place that feels like home. When I first transferred to OU, I attended Women’s Welcome and it was an amazing experience, to say the least. I have gone on to be a mentor for the program and recommend it for any woman or nonbinary person entering the engineering world! You get to know people who are entering the same college as you and oftentimes these acquaintances flourish into beautiful friendships. Not only that, you get to meet a lot of professors before you sit in their classrooms.
If you have any worries before starting off the school year, they all completely vanish by the time this program is over.
Aside from Women’s Welcome, I have helped charter an organization with a close friend of mine— The OU Chapter of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineers. We are still in the building process and everything is still quite new, but we are so excited for everything to take off! I have also found a home in a technical sorority here as well— the Alpha Sigma Kappa- Women in Technical Studies. With all of that, I feel as though I have created a home away from home here at OU, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else! The people you meet, the connections you make, everything here will allow you to find a sense of satisfaction.
Hello. My name is Darian Baldwin, and I attended high school in Owasso, Oklahoma. My STEM story started during my senior year of high school, about the time when my mom and teachers planted the idea in my head of pursuing engineering in college. I have always been a passionate student, and knew I wanted to go to college somewhere relatively close to home. Although OU was not initially my top contender, I found out that, during my first OU Women in Engineering event, OU offered the best resources, relationships, and opportunities that I needed to be successful. I am now a senior studying Electrical Engineering in the Gallogly College of Engineering.
I decided to pursue STEM because of a few factors. I enjoyed learning about math and science, an engineering career was respectable, and I wanted to be financially independent. Now, I continue to choose STEM for other reasons. I love learning about the laws of the universe and how it so deeply intertwines with technology, electronics, and the future in general. I am passionate about engineering and being able to convert ideas into tangible or simulated results, while keeping safety, efficiency, and effectiveness a priority for the present and future generations.
That’s what engineering does – it solves real problems that matter!
Lastly, I still choose STEM because I have been able to accomplish beyond what I believed my potential was, which has been an empowering and deeply fulfilling experience that I recommend to all women who are even remotely interested in STEM!
Without touring, I chose OU to stay near my family, and now Norman has become my second home. My favorite thing about Norman is the friendly community. The city holds a variety of restaurants, shops, and entertainment, and I also like that it’s relatively close to Oklahoma City and the airport.
My favorite thing about the GCoE is the opportunity. I’ve come to realize that there is an abundance of access to resources, connections, and experiences to support you throughout your engineering journey. I’m thankful for the OU WiE community because it welcomed me with open arms as a first-year student and encouraged me to make connections through involvement at OU. Although my sophomore and junior years were mainly virtual, I’ve still managed to be involved during the other years. In 2018, I was a mentee at the WiE Women’s Welcome and attended some events hosted by student organizations. This year I was selected to be a WW mentor, and I’m involved in WiE and WECE (Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering). The reason why I love the OU WiE Women’s Welcome event so much is because it allows familiarity with the faculty and campus, connects incoming students with upper classmen, and motivates everyone involved to start the semester off strong. Actually, this event is where my current mentor and I first met. Although she wasn’t my mentor during the event, because I switched my major, I reconnected with her, and she’s now guiding me through my journey as a senior transitioning into the workplace. Opportunity begets opportunity!
My name is Necole Begay, and I am majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in Native American Studies. I come from Shiprock, NM where I was born and raised on the Navajo Reservation. I graduated high school from Navajo Preparatory High School in Farmington, NM. I am the first person in my family to go to college, which is why it is important for me to continue my education.
In middle school I found a passion to give back to my indigenous community through STEM. Forty-five percent of homes still lack running water and/or electricity on the Navajo Reservation. These homes often resort to using windmill sources as their primary source of water. Therefore, I conducted a science fair experiment that included testing local windmill wells for bacterial contamination in a very rural town on the reservation. I used oilfield microbiology to help support my concluding evidence. By the end of my testing period, I proved that there were bacterial colonies present in the water samples I collected. I used this project to compete at the national level where I earned second place and received sponsorship for my research. From that point on, I made it my goal to obtain an engineering degree so that I can return home and help solve the water crisis.
That’s what engineering does – it solves real problems that matter!
I chose OU because it was my dream school since second grade. I grew up around family members who were big OU football fans and since, OU has grown on me. As a third grader, I remember watching one of the football games and saw a commercial highlighting the OU campus. I turned to my mom and told her that I would go to OU and then made it my goal to make my dream come true.
I like that Norman is a small town and that it isn’t entirely busy, as opposed to living in a large city. An interesting thing that happened since I started living here was that my younger siblings transferred high schools from New Mexico to attend Norman High School. I would get homesick very often but now that they live with me, I always feel like I’m home.
I like the diversity and inclusion program located in Gallogly Hall. Lisa Morales is the Director of the program and the program has been a huge support system for me since I transferred into OU. She is always open to lend a listening ear. The diversity and inclusion office also offers free tutoring services for many engineering classes. If it weren’t for the tutoring services, I wouldn’t have made B’s or higher in my engineering courses. The OU Gallogly College of Engineering provides the resources that students need to succeed!
If you want to be an engineer, you’ll find the support that you need at OU to achieve that goal!
Additionally, I am serving my second term as president for AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society), and this is important to me because it has helped me develop my professional skills as an engineer. Participation in student organizations is also important because it can help you find opportunities and to connect with others! I attended the AISES National Conference in 2018 and received my very first internship offer! From that point on, I’ve attended the AISES conference each year and have received numerous subsequent employment offers. AISES has also helped me build a sense of community with other STEM majors who share similar passions.
Hello! My name is Eleana Cabello, and I am a senior studying biomedical engineering (BME) at the University of Oklahoma (OU). In high school, I found my most challenging STEM classes to be the most interesting, which drove me to pursue engineering after graduation. I chose BME because I wanted to pursue a degree that allowed me to explore my engineering and biomedical sciences interests. Engineering solves real problems that matter! I chose OU because of my family. My older sister had attended OU and received her bachelor’s degree in Sonography from the OU Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) in 2015. She was the first person in our family to graduate from college and encouraged me to attend OU based on her experience. As a first-generation student, I really valued her encouragement and decided OU was the right fit for me as well.
If you want to be an engineer, you’ll find the support that you need at OU to achieve that goal!
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as a student and as part of the Gallogly College of Engineering community. One thing that makes OU stand out is the endless learning opportunities available to gain experience in your specific field of study and other areas you might be interested in exploring. Although I am an engineering major, I have gained experience in several fields like data science and computer science by taking classes and pursuing student opportunities offered by other departments. Additionally, I am active in a research lab on campus as an undergraduate research assistant. Being part of the undergraduate research program helped motivate me to make the most of my undergraduate years as a student and individual. I have also contributed to a Student Hero’s initiative where I got the opportunity to teach kids how to 3D print at a nearby elementary school. I did a lot of volunteer work during high school and finding opportunities to continue doing so helped me connect with the Norman community!
I really like Norman, OK! My favorite part of Norman is the great study spots on and off-campus. My favorite places to study are the Bizzell Library on campus and the Norman Public Library. On Main Street, there are several restaurants and shops that I love visiting. The City also hosts an annual music festival where many local music artists and bands perform. Local artists also get to showcase their art during the festival. It’s a great event to attend and a great way to experience Norman!
My name is Jahnavi Dirisina, and I am an international student from India. I am pursuing a PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering in the Gallogly College of Engineering here at the University of Oklahoma. My initial path towards STEM was not a choice made by me, but a nudge caused by parental pressure. But I developed an interest for industrial engineering as I started to understand the versatility of the field. I chose OU as my grad school due to its extensive and wide range of research postulated by the faculty of ISE. It is after arriving here that I learned about the field of “Human Factors” that is raging and has amazing prospects for research.
Additionally, the library, peer groups, student organizations, mentors, and other resources available at OU have helped me enhance my level of knowledge and confidence. Most of the courses offered at OU GCoE are developed by professors with the topics/concepts that they wished they had learned while they were in college, and that puts the student a step ahead than many others in the industry.
Norman, in my opinion, is the perfect town-ish environment with the calm and quiet that a student needs, while offering great cultural exposure. Campus Corner is an example in itself for the diversity that can be expected around the town. Being an international student becomes your whole identity when you are trying to form a community overseas. However, at OU, I was able to find a community based on activities that interest me. If one day I woke up and thought, I want to make a rug, there is actually an OU student organization that meets to make rugs! Want to learn how to make specialty coffee and be a part time barista while serving the community? You can volunteer as a barista at a student led coffee shop! This list goes on to address anything you can name, and if it doesn’t, you are able to form a group of your own and meet many others that share the same interest. There are occasional mixers, seminars and socials that address some of the distresses one might be experiencing. One such example: I had attended a seminar that had addressed imposter syndrome that is common among high achieving STEM students. It helped relieve a lot of pressure for me!
“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” – Rabindranath Tagore
My name is Nanziri Esther Kayondo. I typically go by Esther because it is easier to say . I am a Junior studying Civil Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. I am originally from Kampala, Uganda, which is a major reason why I chose to pursue a degree in civil engineering.
Engineering solves real problems that matter!
Growing up in Uganda and seeing slums on my way to school every day, I constantly asked myself how I could be a part of the efforts to change the trajectory of my country. Right next to my neighborhood, there was a slum called Kamwokya. Thousands of people in this area lived in substandard conditions: poor sewerage systems, mud houses, leaking roofs, to mention but a few. It was always heavy on my heart, but the thought of being an engineer didn’t cross my mind until I was 16 years old. When my father started taking me with him to visit planned buildings in the city, I too developed a passion for structures. I realized that the same level of creativity and dedication could be used to create affordable and sustainable housing, since that is the primary need in Uganda. That is when I decided to do civil engineering.
I was a program contributor for one of the projects in a school in Kamwokya, where we would tutor children and fundraise for their supplies. After spending time with the young girls in the community, I was inspired to become someone that they could see as a role model for them. Because they consistently see their male counterparts being prioritized in the education system, it became evident to me that they needed a ray of hope to show them that there were countless possibilities for them outside of the confines of their upbringing.
Even though I am far from home, my two principles of impacting low-income communities and inspiring women remain at the center of everything I do, no matter where I am. The University of Oklahoma has given me endless opportunities to grow in these values. I have been a part of the Engineers Serving Others student organization where I have participated in and led project groups that solve problems for nonprofits in Oklahoma. We have built shelves for the Women’s Resource Center, an interactive door prop for service dogs at Faithful Friends, and I am currently working on a project to design and build shelves and palettes for the OU Food Pantry.
Additionally, I have also had opportunities to interact with influential women through the Gallogly College of Engineering’s Women’s Welcome, OU Women in Engineering Retreat and the Halliburton REDiness program. The OU Women in Engineering Program has been a fantastic way to interact with fellow women in engineering, both at OU and in the professional field. I have grown immensely in my ability to navigate issues that we face as women in engineering because of these programs. I have learned negotiation skills, effectively dealing with imposter syndrome, and so much more.
Even though I am 8000 miles away from home, I have found home here.
Hello! My name is Sydney Kropp. I’m from Dallas, Texas. I’m currently a junior at OU and I’m studying Industrial and Systems Engineering. I have family in Oklahoma and grew up watching Sooner sports and visiting campus well before I was figuring out where to go to school. After touring campus, I knew that the University of Oklahoma – Gallogly College of Engineering was the place for me.
I always knew I wanted to major in STEM because I really enjoyed science classes in high school. I never thought I’d be an engineer though. It sounded difficult and boring to me, until I was introduced to two women industrial engineers. They explained all of the interesting projects they had done, relating to airplanes, medical devices and technology, while also having a fun personal life.
I realized that engineering solves real problems that matter!
ISE is a very interesting study and can be used in any industry, which is awesome because I’m still not exactly sure what I want to do in career yet. OU has a great ISE program! I’m currently planning to complete an accelerated Masters in ISE after I finish my undergraduate studies.
The other very appealing thing about OU is how easy it is to study abroad, which can be difficult for engineering majors. I wasn’t able to travel due to the pandemic, but I have friends who participated in study abroad and they really enjoyed it.
I came from a really small high school and I knew I wanted to go to a big college (plus, the sports are great!). OU has so many organizations that make it easy to get connected with peers. The first-year engineering experience class is also helpful for this and makes it really easy to get to know other first year engineering students. If you're “engineering undecided”, the class is really helpful because you’ll learn about all of the engineering disciplines at OU and see what kinds of jobs those majors provide after college.
The Gallogly College of Engineering is a really fun place. There’s a lot of tradition, and E-Week is my favorite! There are also so many engineering-specific clubs to join, like SWE (Society of Women Engineers), E-Club (Engineer’s Club- they do a lot of fun events), and several competition teams. I’ve made some friends through these organizations and it’s a great way to get to know people outside of your major.
I’ve also made a lot of friends through my classes. My best friend and I met in a computer science class when we were assigned as lab partners. We’ve been friends since freshman year and she recently asked me to be her maid of honor in her wedding!
I’ve also made several professional connections during my time here. Through the Jerry Holmes Leadership program in the College of Engineering, I was matched with a mentor from industry. She’s been really helpful and we’ve become close. It’s nice having someone to ask for professional advice!
Additionally, Norman is a fun place to live - I like that it’s a small-ish town, and Oklahoma City (the bigger urban area) is only 25 minutes away. I really enjoy food, and there’s a lot of great choices in the area.
My name is Claudia Merchan and I’m a sophomore mechanical engineering student in the Gallogly College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma (OU). I’ve lived in Norman, OK for most of my life and I went to Norman North High School. Being from Norman, OU was always one of my top schools for consideration. My high school had a lot of connections to OU and selecting OU would keep me close to family. Additionally, when I was looking at and touring other colleges, OU was the college that felt the most welcoming to me. It offers all the resources of a large school while making you feel personally cared about, which is usually attributed with smaller schools.
Engineering solves real problems that matter!
I gravitated towards engineering specifically because I am from a family of engineers, both my father and brother are mechanical engineers. I had been exposed to engineering for as long as I can remember. I really came to appreciate the subject as I got older and was able to comprehend some of the ideas.
Norman is also such a nice place to study. OU always has something going on…as a student, you’ll even get weekly emails about things to do on and off campus. OU is also within driving distance of Oklahoma City, which has a ton of things to do.
What I have really liked about OU and the College of Engineering is the number of clubs and organizations it has. By joining a few, it felt like I had a built-in network of friends and mentors. Especially in engineering, it was very helpful to have upperclassmen that had just been in my shoes, to help me navigate classes, campus, and internships. I’m personally a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and Alpha Sigma Kappa (ASK) which is a sorority for women majoring in a STEM field. I have also been involved in Women’s Welcome both as an attendee and a mentor. I have met a lot of friends through these groups, and they have been a great way to meet people in and out of my major!
OU has been a great place to study, and I’ve met some wonderful people.
Howdy! My name is Abbey Moore, and I am a fourth-year mechanical engineering student in the OU Gallogly College of Engineering. I am originally from Pearland, Texas (just outside of Houston). In high school, I was a member of FIRST Robotics Competition Team 5414 as well as the varsity swim and water polo teams. I love all things space (especially human spaceflight), hiking, and solving sudoku puzzles.
My journey in STEM started young. I dreamed of being a Flight Director and using science and math to put people into space. As I got older, however, I struggled in math, and convinced myself that engineering was something I would love, but I wasn’t smart enough. Eventually, my junior year of high school, I had a great physics teacher who taught me that engineering is much more about problem solving than any particular formula. I was hooked! I became a Texas Aerospace Scholar, joined my robotics team, and never looked back.
If you want to be an engineer and solve real problems that matter, you’ll find the support and resources that you need at OU to achieve that goal!
Being on an FRC team was one of my favorite parts of high school, so it was really important to me to be able to continue to be involved in hands-on engineering extracurriculars during my undergrad years. The moment I stepped foot in OU’s Rawls Engineering Practice Facility (colloquially known as the EPF), my college decision was made. The EPF is a building on the Engineering Quad entirely dedicated to student organizations. The crowning jewel, in my opinion, is the high bay, a space for OU’s student competition teams to design, build, and test their projects. These competition teams range from the Sooner Rover Team - that builds a Mars rover prototype - to the Concrete Canoe Team - that aims to build a watercraft entirely out of concrete. The opportunities that these teams presented to me, as well as the scholarship package OU offered to me, helped to make my decision to become a Sooner easy. If you haven’t gotten the opportunity to visit campus and check out the EPF for yourself, I highly recommend making the trip out to Norman before you commit anywhere!
Once I got to OU, I found it surprisingly easy to get plugged into these teams almost immediately. Coming from a large, competitive high school, I had expected rounds of applications and interviews before I was even allowed to step foot in the bay. Fortunately, this was not the case. As a freshman, I was able to not only join the Sooner Rover Team (SoRo) but also hold a leadership role on the team. Everyone was beyond welcoming, and in my first few months as a Sooner, I had already gained so many practical engineering skills and made meaningful contributions to our rover. My experience on SoRo prompted me to apply for a co-op the fall of my freshman year. The program is designed for juniors and seniors, so when I applied, my expectations were low. Much to my surprise, however, I was accepted into the program and I now alternate semesters between school at OU and working my dream job designing hardware to send people to space. The hands-on experience I got through SoRo was invaluable in bolstering my confidence as I went through the application process and began work. I’m still involved with the team and can often be found on any given evening hard at work in the bay prototyping a new science mechanism or working with my team to devise a testing schedule.
Coming into college, I knew that OU would offer me unique experiences to grow technical skills, but I had no idea the community I would find within the College of Engineering, especially with other gender minorities. I am a member of Alpha Sigma Kappa, a social sorority for women and non-binary people in STEM. ASK has helped me connect with mentors and friends and provided plenty of opportunities for fun social events to help balance out my challenging curriculum. The biggest source of community I have found on campus, however, is the OU Women in Engineering Program, particularly through Women’s Welcome. When I came to Norman, I didn’t know a single other person in the entire state of Oklahoma. I moved into my dorm, immediately got strep throat, and wondered how I was ever going to find my place here. A few days later, however, Women’s Welcome began. Immediately, I was introduced to a community of mentors and other first-year students who all knew exactly how I was feeling. We spent three days learning about OU, professional and networking skills, and most importantly, each other. By the end of the program, I felt so much more confident in my college decision and had met dozens of other women at OU, including my best friend to this day. As an upperclass student, Women’s Welcome is still my favorite three days of the year. I love being able to come back each year as a mentor to give back to the incoming class and grow the WiE community. Outside of Women’s Welcome, the WiE program has tons of other opportunities to both give back and build community. One of my favorites is GLAMS (Girls Learning and Applying Math and Science), a program each semester where OU students lead middle school girls through hands-on engineering activities. I love being able to work directly with younger students to help them avoid writing off STEM and falling into the same trap I did. OU has a uniquely thriving WiE program that has served me incredibly well throughout college providing familiar faces in nearly every class, opportunities to serve others, and lifelong friendships.
Outside of OU, I’ve also fallen in love with the Norman community. When I’m not on campus, I can often be spotted grabbing chai or brunch (at All About Cha and Juan Del Fuego, respectively - in case you ever make a trip here) or at the gorgeous, newly renovated Norman Public Library where myself and some other OU students volunteer running a Girls Who Code program that provides free programming lessons for girls in grades 3-12. Coming from the swamps of East Texas, I also love the fall colors, cooler temperatures, and proximity to great hiking spots.
My name is Claire Nguyen, and I am from Oklahoma City. I attended Westmoore High School and graduated in 2020. I decided to go to Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) for one year. After I finished my pre-requisites and “tested the waters” to see if I liked programming, I transferred to OU as a sophomore for Computer Science in the Gallogly College of Engineering!
All throughout grade school, I really didn’t care much about STEM; I was neither good or bad at math and science. I didn’t have a particular liking for any subject. As long as I enjoyed my teacher, I usually did well. In high school, I took rigorous AP science and math courses such as physics, calculus, and chemistry, and they all really challenged me. I had friends who did so much better than me, and I decided that I wasn’t cut out for anything related to STEM. By attending community college first, it was a good way for me to know myself in a more independent, college-type environment, and figure out what my interests are.
My mom is a nurse, and she always told me that she would like me to have a life like my parents have, where the work environment is friendly and stable. Both my dad and my older brother are software engineers and majored in computer engineering. My dad worked alongside women who coded, and I saw how happy and successful they were. So I stopped being stubborn about trying new things, and I took my first coding class. After the first semester, I decided coding wasn’t so bad and since I already clocked in so many hours of screen time playing games or watching videos, I might as well spend some of that screen time programming. I declared myself as a computer science major by my second semester of freshman year and applied to transfer to OU for computer science in the GCoE.
If you want to be an engineer, you’ll find the support that you need at OU to achieve that goal!
The reason why I decided to go to OU (starting Fall 2021) despite all my worries, was because of all the opportunities OU had for engineering students. While I still love OCCC, I outgrew community college and needed a larger STEM community to thrive. I understood the reality of the difficulties of going to an out-of-state college, especially during the pandemic, and there was much more practicality for me in attending OU. Turns out, I knew a few people from high school who were also computer science and engineering students and it was nice to see them again. I also have made many new friends through participation in events, clubs (student organizations, like the Asian American Student Association), and programs like GCoE’s Women’s Welcome (WW) and Hacklahoma. Some of the people I consider my closest friends now are all computer science majors like me. All of us are in similar engineering clubs, which help us grow our technical and professional skills while having fun getting to know each other and new people!
My transition from OCCC to OU was rough, but I had a very supportive Java 2 professor named Dr. Anindya Maiti who encouraged me to keep trying, and I met with another great professor named Dr. Deborah Trytten who told me that she believes that I would do well in computer science. She researched that the biggest reason why students drop out of computer science (and engineering in general) is because they have a lack of support and self-doubts; it has nothing to do with their intelligence or ability in school.
As I write this, I am currently in my second semester of my sophomore year, and I continue to have wonderful supportive professors. I don’t regret attending community college first, but if I had initially gone to OU, I don’t doubt I would’ve been able to create stronger relationships with my professors and had a head start in opportunities such as networking, undergraduate research, and honors programs.
It was hard putting myself out there and talking to people after a year of isolation and it doesn’t help that I am shy and introverted, but I’m so lucky that I met great people along the way. School will always be difficult no matter where you attend. And luckily, OU is a fantastic place to be, and I’m happy I ended up here.
It feels like only yesterday when I was trying to figure out where my place in the world would be when I graduated high school. In the back of my mind I had always wanted to go to the University of Oklahoma, since I had grown up in this state. My name is Natalie Norton, and I am from Oklahoma City. I am a sophomore studying Biomedical Engineering on the pre-med track in the Gallogly College of Engineering.
Engineering solves real problems that matter!
I had always been interested in the medical field/ STEM but once I started looking into colleges and found the BME program at OU, I knew I wanted something in the STEM field to be my future career.
If you want to be an engineer, you’ll find the support that you need at OU to achieve that goal!
The amazing engineering program, student organizations and opportunities are what made me chose OU and I have not regretted it a day since! Some of the best memories I have made and some of my closest friends have come from participating in GCoE student programs and organizations, like when I attended the Women in Engineering Women’s Welcome. I made so many connections during this event week and was able to get plugged into many organizations on campus! It was a great way to start off my freshman year. I was also able to meet some of my closest friends and future classmates! Being involved in different student organizations, like the OU Chapter of the Biomedical Engineers Society, has helped make OU feel like home to me and has made a large campus feel like a small community of like-minded people!
Besides being involved on campus, one of my favorite things to do is to eat at the Mont on gameday… it is something that everyone must experience at least once!
Hello, my name is Karen Ochie and I am from Nigeria. I am pursuing a dual master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering and Data Science and Analytics at the University of Oklahoma (OU). I did my high school and undergrad education in Nigeria and wasn’t keen on attending graduate school until I discovered OU. I am the first daughter in an African family and also the first in my family to attend college, hence graduate school seemed a luxury that neither I nor my parents could afford. OU was my top choice school and I didn’t think they would accept me, given it is one of the best schools in the US to study Petroleum Engineering. You can imagine how ecstatic I was when I got admitted and also got funding to be a graduate assistant!
Engineering solves real problems that matter!
I have always enjoyed the sciences, hence I was passionate about exceling in STEM. I particularly choose Petroleum Engineering, being from an oil-producing country myself and I wanted to contribute to sustainable energies in the long run. After reviewing the Petroleum Engineering curriculum at OU, it was very robust and I understood why it was constantly ranked among the top 5 schools for programs in the US. The dual degree program also made OU an easy choice for me, because it gave me the opportunity to expand my scope as an engineer.
So far, I have created a home away from home here at Norman. Everyone has been friendly and geared towards my success. My professors, faculty and staff are all vested in my success!
The OU Gallogly College of Engineering provides the resources that students need to succeed!
I have made many friends, and the international office here at OU has also created an opportunity for me to experience the American Culture as an international student. I am also involved in many organizations such as the OU Women in Engineering, Society of Women Engineers, Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), National Society of Black Engineers, OU Artificial Intelligence Club, Nigerian Students Association and the African Students Association. The WiE program welcomed me when I arrived in Norman with the Women’s Welcome and I still attend this event every semester to get refreshed for the semester ahead. SWE also provided me a platform where I secured an internship for next semester and I have also received numerous scholarships from these organizations, and more importantly, they have given me a sense of community and belonging!
My hobbies are cooking, dancing and volunteering and between the many events these organizations have, I am able to attain a work-life balance by growing professionally while doing what I like, via these platforms. I have enjoyed my stay here at OU and I am very happy I took that bold step to come here for my degree!
Hi. My name is Laura Camila Osorio Ojeda. Not too long ago I was searching for a college to pursue my master’s degree. I did my undergraduate studies in Colombia, where I pursued petroleum engineering. When I was in high-school I was hesitant about what to study. I liked math and chemistry. For me, it was amazing how what I was learning in those classes was the same in my country as it was on the other side of the world; math and chemistry are worldwide languages.
I decided to follow a STEM path because of its evolving nature - whatever someone develops in these fields will impact people’s lives immediately. Innovation is the key to improve the world and move forward. I found out that engineering comes from the Latin Ingenium, and it occurred to me how important it is in all industries! Wherever you look, there is engineering. No device that we use daily would have been possible without someone deciding, a bunch of years ago, to pursue STEM.
When I was finishing my undergrad, I decided to further my studies by doing a master's degree. I wanted to challenge myself in a new country with a new language. Besides that, I wanted to study on a campus located in the heart of the oil and gas industry in the United States. That is how I found The University of Oklahoma (OU). It has many of the features I wanted according to my online and peer-to-peer research.
OU has been, for years, ranked as one the best petroleum engineering programs in the US. During the application process, the OU staff and faculty were very responsive and answered all the inquiries I had. The school provides opportunities for the professional development of the students and has labs with cutting-edge technology - where besides learning, new knowledge is generated.
OU has a beautiful and very active campus. Activities are planned every week throughout the semester. Personally, this was a key point for me, as I enjoy spending time outdoors and getting to know new people. By being an international student myself, my desire was to be in an environment where I would be close to the American culture and still relate within a wholesome international community. OU has provided me with both. I have highly enjoyed my time here, getting to know the local mid-western American culture, making good Oklahoma friends, and realizing how welcome and warmhearted Oklahomans have been. The international community has also been supportive throughout my time in the states and has provided several opportunities for me to get to know people from different backgrounds.
The variety of organizational opportunities that OU has provided have been an important part of my time here because they have allowed me to meet people with similar interests as mine, and who have helped me to develop in different areas, from volunteer to research experiences. There is always someone on campus with whom to share points of view - and being part of social groups is a way to find them.
Norman itself has been the surprising hidden gem that I did not think to consider when searching for colleges. I assumed it was a cute college town with the main entertainment being the OU campus.
Although I was not wrong about it being a cute college town, I found that it is more than that. One of my favorite activities is to go hiking. The town is close to state parks that provide unique opportunities to exercise and to sightsee different kind of animals. The international community outside of the campus is also strong. There are several restaurants with different types of food in the Norman and Oklahoma City area. My second favorite activity has been trying new types of food, from Thai to Ethiopian. Nightlife is also important to me. Campus corner provides a safe place close to the campus where people can gather with friends after class. All of this has enhanced my experience of studying at OU.
My name is Rachel Penner and I’m a senior at the University of Oklahoma studying Engineering Physics with a concentration in Aerospace Engineering.
I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and went to a really small charter high school before coming to OU.
Because my school was so small, we didn’t have any AP classes or STEM-based extracurriculars. I took dual-credit classes at my local community college, played tennis, and was involved in yearbook and student council. I knew I was interested in science, mostly because I wanted to work in the space industry but was worried that I would be behind because my high school didn’t have a strong STEM program. However, I have found that if you want to be an engineer, you’ll find the support that you need at OU to achieve that goal!
The OU Gallogly College of Engineering provides the resources that students need to succeed!
I thought about a lot of different major options but eventually settled on either physics or some kind of engineering, and when I came to visit OU I heard about Engineering Physics. Engineering Physics is a really cool degree program that not a lot of schools offer and was definitely one of the reasons I decided to commit to OU. I loved physics but wanted the real-world applications of engineering, and EPhys is a perfect blend of the two. I take most of the physics for physics majors classes (like Electronics Lab, Quantum Mechanics, and Classical Mechanics) while picking an engineering discipline to concentrate in. I chose aerospace engineering for my concentration, which means I take at least 5 upper-division aerospace (AME) classes to count as part of my “design sequence.” Some of the AME classes I’ve taken are Aerodynamics, Flight Mechanics, and Space Sciences and Astrodynamics. I love the flexibility that EPhys offers and I know that having a strong fundamental background in physics will help me in my career. The flexibility of the Engineering Physics degree also allowed me to spend a full semester studying abroad at the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland.
One of the other things that set OU apart for me was the fantastic Women in Engineering (WiE) program. When I first started school here, I moved in early as part of Women’s Welcome (WW), a special program for incoming first-year women in engineering. In addition to making the OU Engineering community feel like a welcoming place, I also met one of my closest friends through WW. Three years later, I still come back early every August to be a WW mentor.
After WW was over, I wanted to stay involved with the engineering community, so I joined SWE (the Society of Women Engineers). I’m now in my 3rd year as a SWE officer and am serving my second term on the executive board as Secretary (SWE-cretary?). Being a part of SWE has provided me with a ton of opportunities, both on campus and professionally. As an officer, I’ve been able to travel at almost no cost
to the SWE National Conference for the past three years. In 2019, I traveled to Anaheim, CA for SWE and in addition to hearing tons of fascinating and empowering speakers, I got my first internship at the massive career fair. Last fall I was able to travel to Indianapolis, where I was able to network and got another job offer.
Engineering solves real problems that matter!
I’m a member of the OU Honors College, which has provided me with lots of opportunities. As a first-year student, I participated in the FYRE (First Year Research Experience) program, which allowed me to get hands-on lab experience in my first year of college. Through FYRE, I was partnered with a professor in the Micro and Nano Materials Lab in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. My project was to analyze and characterize shape-memory polymer composites for autonomously deployable space structures, which I know sounds super complicated. I worked with a special kind of carbon fiber that becomes flexible when heated and used origami theory to design a solar sail that would unfold on its own in space. I founded a chapter of SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) on campus. I met some of the most amazing and supportive faculty both inside and outside of the Gallogly College of Engineering. I presented (and won an award!) at an Undergraduate Research Day. I worked on space-related projects at two different engineering internships. That’s just a few of the things I’ve done at OU over the past three and half years. I’m just now starting my senior capstone project in the physics department, where I will perform analysis on flexible photovoltaic solar panels to see how they hold up to space radiation.
During my time at OU, I have adopted an adorable kitten named Ramona, have learned how to rock climb, have gone hiking in the Wichita Mountains, and have fallen in love with the fried goat cheese at Picasso’s in Oklahoma City.
When I first came to OU, I was terrified, but now Norman truly feels like home. I love campus (my favorite spots on campus are the Devon Terrace and the little rose garden just south of the Physical Sciences Center), I love my friends, I love my major, and I love the OU Women in Engineering program. Off campus, you can catch me hanging out at Secondwind (a pay-what-you-can coffee shop on campus corner), lounging at the Norman Public Library, or devouring brunch at Neighborhood Jam on Main Street.
My name is Rose Thomas. I’m a 3rd year mechanical engineering major at OU with a minor in electrical and computer engineering. I’ve always known I wanted to go into a STEM field because both my parents are scientists and I discovered engineering in middle school when I joined a lego robotics team.
Despite its size, Norman has always felt like a small town to me. It’s easy to meet people! Once you have met a few people, finding others you have no relation to is quite uncommon. I moved here when I was in elementary school and have never had trouble finding people I know, or who know a friend of a friend of mine. OU is the same way, especially once you start finding people you click with.
One of the main reasons I chose OU, despite getting accepted into other colleges across the country, is because the College of Engineering (CoE) has lots of opportunities for financial aid. I’ve received scholarships every year I’ve been here based on my academic achievement specifically for women in STEM, as have several of my friends. With the CASH app (which is essentially an application that consolidates most of the scholarships that OU offers) it’s easy to apply!
Student organizations are one of the best parts of OU’s environment. You can find orgs focused on anything from politics and social justice to beekeeping and gardening. And the CoE also has over 40 organizations focused specifically on engineering. There are orgs for each major, ones for minority students, competition teams focused on building robots and race cars and rockets, honor societies, and several social and career ones as well.
One of the first things I did before class started was to find which organizations I would be interested in joining. Today I am an officer in three: Engineers Serving Others, Society of Women Engineers, and Tau Beta Pi, and a member of several others! They’re great ways to network with other students (especially from other colleges if you join national/international groups) and professionals. Many of them also have workshops for technical and soft skills, recruiting events for various companies, and the free food at meetings is never unappreciated. I’ve met a lot of upperclassmen that gave me really good career and class advice and I have been able to go to a national conference that let me network with people from top companies and colleges.
