It was time for a study break. I walked into the hallway and headed toward the bathroom. Just then Dr. Hawkins stepped out of his office and stopped me in my tracks. “Are you Lynnell?” he asked. I thought to myself, “Did he really just say my name!?” I was shocked, impressed, and confused all at the same time. First of all, we had never met before that very moment. Why did he know my name? How did he know my name? Second, I had only taken one class from him, the New Student Seminar, and it was during the previous semester. It was a class for students who were interested in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECEn) but were not yet accepted into the program; I was one of about 200 prospective students; we only met once a week for one hour. Did he somehow manage to learn each student’s name without any one-on-one interaction!? Highly unlikely. How then, did he know my name? Why would he be stopping me in the hallway...?
Over the next few days after our initial encounter Dr. Hawkins and I exchanged emails about an undergraduate research opportunity called IMMERSE, Intensive Mentoring and Micro-Electronics Research for Students in Engineering. It was started by Dr. Hawkins and another professor at BYU in an effort to give undergraduate students, like me, a hands-on experience with REAL research projects. He encouraged me to apply and assured me that it would be like an internship, but better! Dr. Hawkins was confident that it would be a great experience and very beneficial to my future career.
From our emails, I found out that Dr. Hawkins was keeping track of the students in his class because he was interested to see if the seminar had helped with raising the number of students enrolled in the major. He noticed on the class rolls that I had switched from ECEn Pre-Professional to Electrical Engineering and that meant that I had been accepted into the major. In his opinion, I was a success for the New Student Seminar and therefore a potential candidate for IMMERSE. It also helped that I am a female and from Hawaii (multi-cultural) which adds to the program's "diversity." As for the name thing, he did not know everyone’s name in the class but he did point out that it is easier to remember the names of the females in engineering classes because there aren't very many of us!
Looking back on that day in the hallway I realize that it turned out to be a defining moment in my life. That one decision would steer my entire future...well, maybe not my entire future but at least up to this point...and the next four to five years of my life! Dr. Hawkins introduced me to IMMERSE and gave me an opportunity to do research as an undergraduate. Because of that I am now on my way to a PhD. Yikes! If you really think about it, this could determine my future job, my future location, my future ward, my future callings, my future husband, and who knows what else! So maybe I was right...maybe this one decision really will steer my entire future.
Over the next few days after our initial encounter Dr. Hawkins and I exchanged emails about an undergraduate research opportunity called IMMERSE, Intensive Mentoring and Micro-Electronics Research for Students in Engineering. It was started by Dr. Hawkins and another professor at BYU in an effort to give undergraduate students, like me, a hands-on experience with REAL research projects. He encouraged me to apply and assured me that it would be like an internship, but better! Dr. Hawkins was confident that it would be a great experience and very beneficial to my future career.
From our emails, I found out that Dr. Hawkins was keeping track of the students in his class because he was interested to see if the seminar had helped with raising the number of students enrolled in the major. He noticed on the class rolls that I had switched from ECEn Pre-Professional to Electrical Engineering and that meant that I had been accepted into the major. In his opinion, I was a success for the New Student Seminar and therefore a potential candidate for IMMERSE. It also helped that I am a female and from Hawaii (multi-cultural) which adds to the program's "diversity." As for the name thing, he did not know everyone’s name in the class but he did point out that it is easier to remember the names of the females in engineering classes because there aren't very many of us!
Looking back on that day in the hallway I realize that it turned out to be a defining moment in my life. That one decision would steer my entire future...well, maybe not my entire future but at least up to this point...and the next four to five years of my life! Dr. Hawkins introduced me to IMMERSE and gave me an opportunity to do research as an undergraduate. Because of that I am now on my way to a PhD. Yikes! If you really think about it, this could determine my future job, my future location, my future ward, my future callings, my future husband, and who knows what else! So maybe I was right...maybe this one decision really will steer my entire future.
