Blog Post 01 — Hello World!

Hello all, my name is Samantha and I am a junior (kinda) in the Mechanical Engineering program here at Temple. This is my second go at engineering school, the first time being in 2012–2013 when I was a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, I was forced to leave for several reasons after just one year — which prompted a several year hiatus from furthering my education in general, let alone with engineering. So at 24, I am a little bit older than most folks in my classes and on campus. I transferred in last fall with an AA from community college, which gives me the credits to be a senior but in the curriculum I’m still a kinda junior.
Couple things about me, I’m 24 years old but you all know that already. I live on my own just outside the city. My landlord doesn’t allow animals so instead I have an extensive plant collection that I take care of. Over the summer I was able to install some hanging planters in my living room, which I am very excited to finally have set up. I have been plant-based for just over a year now, but I enjoy cooking and baking just about anything under the sun for others. Outside is my favorite place to be, and you can usually find me hiking with friends or with my dad back home. I’m planning on doing the Walk the Wissahickon fundraiser walk for the WVWA at the end of September with some friends if anyone wants to join!
I knew I wanted to be an engineer almost 10 years ago now (I was 14 or 15). My father is a practicing engineer with degrees in multiple disciplines, so I grew up around this type of stuff — whether it be helping him around the house with projects or working for his consulting business that he runs out of the basement of our house. However, it wasn’t until I was a freshman in high school that everything clicked for me and I knew engineering was right for me. I was taking a design technology class at the time (the only girl in the class too) and we would design and build certain things during the year. One project in particular stood out to me (I couldn’t even tell you the other projects we did in that course because it was so long ago), which was to build a solar powered hotdog cooker. It was April/May, so the sun was high and bright in sky; and we used black cloth, styrofoam for insulation and angled mirrors that we cut ourselves to reflect the sun into the box holding the hotdogs to be cooked. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to be an engineer and I am pretty sure that hotdog cooker is still in my attic at home.
As far as this blogging thing goes, can’t say I am a fan at the moment. I don’t usually enjoy writing in general so this is all very out of my element. However, I am willing to give it a whirl. And who knows, maybe by the end of the semester I’ll be hooked and be writing blog posts on a personal page like Dr. F does.
