Student Spotlights

Meet some of our outstanding students!

 

November

Ashlee is a sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She is actively involved with Illini Electric Motorsports (IEM), Illini Vex Robotics (IV), and the Native American House at UIUC. Additionally, she works as a Design Engineer at Caterpillar. Fun fact about Ashlee: She’s training for her first official half marathon in the spring with friends from InterVarsity! She loves staying active through running and rock climbing, and enjoys playing volleyball and flag football with SHPE, IEM, and IV through intramurals. Ashlee’s goal is to become a peer mentor in ENG 111 to support first-year students in their academic journeys. She also hopes to give back to the Native American House by becoming a Student Ambassador.

Gerry is a junior majoring in Bioengineering with a concentration in therapeutics and a minor in Chemistry. He serves as the High School Outreach Director for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and plays C-Side Forward for the Illinois Men’s Rugby team. On campus, Gerry is involved as an undergraduate TA for Organic Chemistry (CHEM 232), a course assistant for BIOE 206, and an Undergraduate Researcher in the Sirk Lab in the Bioengineering Department. Fun fact about Gerry: He has traveled across the U.S. competing in both rowing and rugby and speaks Russian. His goal is to be a resource for his peers and younger students, helping to empower underrepresented students in STEM to achieve a college degree.

October

Benidel is a senior majoring in Civil Engineering with a minor in the Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Fellows Program. She serves as the Pre/Post Collegiate Chair of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Co-Funding Chair of Women in Civil and Environmental Engineering (WCEE), and Secretary of Empowering Minorities and Building Representation Across Civil and Environmental Engineering (EMBRACE). Benidel is also a general member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), a MEP Peer Mentor, and a Grainger Brand Ambassador. Fun fact about Benidel: She speaks three languages, with French as her first! Her goal is to be a resource for her communities.

Geo is a senior majoring in Systems Engineering. His campus involvement includes being a MEP Peer Mentor, ARISE mentor, and a member of the Tech Team for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). Geo is also an Illini Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team member and a Peer-Led Team (PLT) facilitator for CALC 1 through the Center for Academic Resources in Engineering (CARE). Fun fact about Geo: He has a family cat that’s 18 years old! His goal is to become the first in his family to graduate from college.

September

Ana is a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Game Design. She’s involved in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), serves as the Membership Chair for the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), and is also an MEP Peer Mentor. Fun fact about Ana: she designs shirts and created this year’s shirt for our early move-in program, EMBARK. Her goal is to be a great peer mentor in our peer mentoring course, ENG 111. “I had some awesome peer mentors my freshman year, and I want to pay that forward,” she says.

Saliyah is a junior majoring in Civil Engineering with a minor in Art Design. She is the Secretary of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Marketing/Social Chair for Empowering Minorities Building Representation in Civil and Environmental Engineering (EMBRACE), and a general member of both the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (NACWC). Fun fact about Saliyah: she’s also an Engineering Learning Assistant (ELA) and teaches ENG 100 to first-year students. Her goal is to make a positive social impact through her career and community service, while also promoting global stability and supporting the environment.