Alexandro Bustamante

What most befuddled me about becoming an engineer, other than what specific engineering field I was going to go into, was what purpose or impact did I want to make as an engineer. In my childhood fantasy, I was only thinking about the salary of the job and the cool labs I was going to work in. This mentality of course changed as I grew up. As my dream started to get more real, I had to look past the money and all the cool labs engineers work in. I am seeking admissions into the College of Engineering to pursue a degree in electrical engineering because it is an area of engineering where I really believe I can make a change for people to live in a better tomorrow. Not only apply my knowledge locally but all around the world where help is most needed.

I had the opportunity to attend Townview Science & Engineering Magnet High School. Standing here today, I am glad that at the age of fourteen, I made the best decision in my life because attending this school made my dream to become an engineer closer than ever. Joining organizations such as Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and Texas Alliance For Minorities In Engineers allowed me to actually do task and projects that actual engineers do. As soon as my Junior year ended, I knew I had to start prepping for essays and answer questions such as why do I want to become an engineer. Staring at a blank page in my computer; wondering why I couldn’t answer a simple question, asking what impact do you want to make as an engineer made me second guess my whole future career plans. I was very distraught because it was around the end of the summer and was not a hundred percent sure of what I was going to do with my life. My whole life I knew that I wanted a job where I could somehow change the day-to-day of people who are struggling in any way, but I didn’t know how I could apply that to electrical engineering. This all changed when engineers mentored me and counselors helped me find my sole purpose and desire of becoming an engineer. As I looked more into the courses of electrical engineering and work of electrical engineers, I look at problems that today our world faces in a different light; I think to myself what machine or program can I possibly create to help fix the programs. I want my work to have a broader and more complex meaning to it than just some device I created to show off at competitions. Seeing work that electrical engineers have done such as the snake robot used in Mexico City to find survivors in the destruction, that is the meaningful type of work I want to contribute to.