No Need to Worry

With just a week left of summer, I’m sure that recently school has been on your mind a lot more. You may be worried about classes, professors, friends, schedules, majors… These are all things that are you are definitely going to come in contact with shortly. And I know how hard it is to see it from our perspective when we tell you not to worry. But honestly, all of us mentors, rovers, and leads have been in your exact position at one point. And we can truthfully tell you it's all going to be okay! You have some amazing resources coming your way through WEPO, and a lot of other freshmen don’t have such a great program to take advantage of. By reading these blogs, having a mentor and rover, and coming to WEPO next week, you will have so much insight on what to pack, what to expect with classes and teachers, and you’ll already have some great friendships with girls that may be in a lot of your classes. So fear not, you’re in good hands :)

As far as worrying about majors, you may have already decided, you may not have put much thought into it yet, or you may have been dreading this decision for a long time. I fell into the last category, coming to Penn State as a clueless freshman who had no idea what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I knew engineering was for me, since I love math and science and understanding how and why things work. And when I came to WEPO, I thought I might want to be a bioengineer. After hearing what some of the mentors and rovers had to say, they all seemed to totally love what they were doing and highlighted a few neat aspects of their specific majors. Architectural engineering caught my eye, because it sounded artistic and creative, which I’ve always loved. However, I didn’t ask too many more questions to find out more about the career. So I declared that as my major at the end of my freshman year, and became an A E student. After a semester, I realized it wasn’t what I had expected and wasn’t for me, so I talked to some A E and BioE students a little more and researched both careers more thoroughly to help me decide. I should have asked a lot of these questions a lot sooner. I actually changed my major to BioE after getting a much better understanding of what they do, the potential job market, and how they can make a difference in the healthcare industry. I also decided last semester to double major in mechanical engineering. This is definitely a better fit for me, and after taking more BioE and M E classes this past year and after my internship this summer at QBC Diagnostics, I know that I made the right choice.

To make a long story short, you DON’T have to have it all figured out just yet. And as you can see from my story, you aren’t stuck in a major if you choose one, and then decide it’s not for you. Of course, it’s better to decide these things sooner rather than later, but things will work out regardless. You'll eventually find what you're truly passionate about. But take advantage at WEPO next week of having so many mentors and rovers in all different kinds of engineering majors; we’re all here for you guys, and we’d love to tell you more about what we do and how we made a seemingly impossible choice. Ask tons of questions so you get a better understanding of what each major is about, what the job market is like, where these different engineers may work someday… Anything that you think will help you decide what is right for you. We are also going to be available throughout the year, so if any questions come up after WEPO when you start taking classes, feel free to contact any of us with questions or concerns about it. We’re always here to help!

I can’t wait to meet all of you in just a few short days! WEPO ’11 is going to be sweet!!!   :)

Jen Troutman is a senior in Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering. This will be Jen's second WEPO as a mentor. In addition, she is involved with Campus Crusade for Christ and the Biomedical Engineering Society. This summer she had an internship with QBC Diagnostics.