Sunday, May 26, 2019

The Unconventional Engineering Graduate


What did I get myself into?

Throughout my four years at Rutgers, I have asked this question many times. Fortunately, the experiences following this question have always been auspicious. Whether it was joining the Rutgers McNair program for intensive summer research or deciding to lead the IEEE Electronics Division with bare minimum knowledge of microcontrollers, treading the unknown has come with a fair share of benefits. Now, having graduated from the Rutgers Electrical and Computer Engineering program, I have found myself again wandering into foreign territory (literally) with the Rutgers - Berlin: Theater and Contemporary Innovation study abroad program. 


            One of the first topics we discussed as a group in Berlin was why we decided to join the program. In our small group of 10 students, I was probably the one least connected to the world of theater. As I took in my surroundings, sitting outside a restaurant eagerly awaiting my first meal in Berlin, I realized how out of place I was. It was exactly what I wanted. I explained to the group how engineers often tend to ignore anything not related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). I did not want to limit myself in that manner. While many have the misconception that STEM is all engineers need to concern themselves with, the role of Art in this profession cannot be ignored. So for those who view STEM and Art as mutually exclusive categories, Why not both? It is this belief that has led me to the crossroads of these apparently disjoint categories, and, quite frankly, unconventionality seems to be my cup of tea.


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