Hobbies: Watch Illini sports, exploring restaurants around campus, and working out at the ARC.
Major & Why
Annabelle is a sophomore studying Electrical Engineering. While in high school, she really enjoyed math, science, and physics. Her mother’s friend happened to work in an ECE field, and allowed Annabelle to shadow her at work.
Life at UIUC
Favorites: Coming from a small town, Annabelle loves the fact that UIUC provides a large, diverse community. It’s a nice refreshing atmosphere, anda great place to go to school.
Why Choose UIUC: Annabelle believed that the institution and Engineering program is very nice and well known. Coming from a small high school, she really wanted a big college experience. To Annabelle, UIUC is really the package deal.
RSOs
James Scholar
Cancer Research Scholar
Chancellor Scholar
Alpha Omega Epsilon
HKN – ECE Honor Society
WIE Leadership Scholar
Extracurriculars
Jobs:
Contextual Engineering Internship
Annabelle practices taking into account more factors that other engineers might not think about while implementing their projects. She helps engineers evaluate the community that these projects are set in, in order to help these companies maintain their practices.
CEME Internship- Center for Electric Machinery and Electric Mechanics
Annabelle was awarded with the CEME Undergraduate Award her freshman year. With this winning comes the chance to work with solar panels in the CEME department.
After Graduation
Annabelle thinks of a dream career in the business side of renewable energy. When she shadowed with Ameren, she discovered she really loved power and solar panel projects. This kickstarted her passion for renewable energy systems, and wants to continue her studies in this field.
Being a Woman in STEM
The first time Annabelle discovered her passion for STEM was when she shadowed the woman working at Ameren. After this, she made the realization of being the only girl in her physics class, making the engineering field even more intriguing. Once in college, taking the WIE leadership class opened up many opportunities to her research groups on campus, proving to her that women have a place in this field.
Advice to Freshmen
Her advice to incoming freshmen is to take hold of something you really love and find your people in that subject. For her, taking the WIE class allowed her to meet her close friends, and focus on the subject that fit her best. While the endless opportunities can be overwhelming, UIUC is the perfect place to find your passion.