Name: Mary Walker

 

Hometown: Archbald, PA

 

High School: Scranton Preparatory School

 

Activities Outside of WEPO: Engineering Leadership Development, Engineering Ambassadors, SWE

 

Internship/Co-Op/Study Abroad Experience: I went to Budapest in May 2016 for Engineering Leadership Development. I will be working as a manufacturing operations intern this summer at Pepsico FritoLay in York, PA. I was a TI for a mechanical engineering seminar, and I will be a TI this fall for Engineering Leadership Development.

 

Why did you choose to come to Penn State? I originally wanted to study Art History or Theology at a Jesuit University and then teach for my career, but my father, who is a chemical engineer, motivated me to pursue engineering. To be honest, I was set on attending a catholic/Jesuit university but my dad had me apply to a state school. I really liked Penn State because it had that college town feel to it and it wasn't in a city. When I visited Penn State, I felt at home. So I applied to Penn State and was accepted. When I came for accepted students day (I was still on the fence and didn't know what I wanted to do at this point), I had a great engineering ambassador (Kare Slocum) who inspired me. As corny as it sounds, I thought that she was really cool and I wanted to be like her. She also talked to me for about a half hour in Kunkle Lounge after the tour and told me all about WEPO. I accepted my offer to Penn State the very next day!

 

What is your best Penn State or engineering memory? This is a very hard question to answer because I've grown so much as a person since I began my freshman year and there are a lot of people that have come in and out of my life. Let me start by saying: I LOVE Penn State! I love football games, especially when the whole student section yells, screams, or sings together. It's one of those moments in life where its easy to recognize unity. I love THON. I will never forget the final four hours when everyone has their arms around each other and its really emotional. For me, this was an experience for what it actually means to be a member of the Penn State family. I love EHouse. I was so fortunate to live there the past two years. I've met so many of my closest friends in EHouse that stand by me and support me on a daily basis. I know that I have met some of my friends for life there. It was also really nice to always have people to study with especially for late nights. In my EDSGN 100 class, we built devices that allowed a person to walk on water and we actually tested our prototypes in the swimming pool. This was awesome! Also, in my freshman seminar, we built toys for 3-4 year old preschoolers and field tested the toys at a local preschool. My Engineering Leadership Development projects were also a ton of fun and I enjoyed traveling to Budapest, Hungary to meet students that we collaborated with on a project. Overall, I don't have a best memory because the past two years have been a whirlwind of joy!

 

What advice would you give a first-year engineer? Live it up! College is only four years of your life and time flies! Try new things and get outside of your comfort zone. If you have a slight interest in something, get involved. You never know who you are going to meet!

 

What is a fun fact about yourself? I have been to 38 of the 50 United States

 

 

Mary is a sophomore studying Industrial Engineering