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Meet our Sun Devil Class of 2019

Meet our Sun Devil Class of 2019

As we welcome  incoming students to the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, meet a few members of our Sun Devil Class of 2019.

 

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Marquis Everett Johnson

 

Marquis Everett Johnson

Major: robotics

Where are you from?
Las Vegas

Why do you want to be an engineer?
In high school I was originally in web design. Around Halloween I made a costume that had speakers and lights, and it looked awesome. Walking around campus many students praised my work. The engineering teacher caught word of my work and requested that I  be transferred to his class. In the engineering class I learned programming, CAD, circuits and much more. Upon graduation I knew that I heavily enjoyed working with circuits and mechanisms, so I grabbed the best school and selected robots. And now, I am Sun Devil!

Why did you choose ASU/Fulton?
It is the best choice for the learning environment; similar to what I experienced at my high school. Lots of hands on application of course material, and who doesn’t want to be a Sun Devil!

What was your favorite part of E2?
The entire camp was fantastic. I have never been to a camp ever and I had a blast! If I had to pick one thing I liked the most it was my team (blue 2) winning first place!

Has anyone in your family gone to ASU?
No, but my engineering professor told me that he knew others who went, and they loved it.

What other schools did you consider, get accepted to?
There are other schools? No one else. ASU was the best and my only choice!

What do you want to do with your degree or what is your dream job?
I plan to enter a field in automation systems. Running them would be fine, but building and repairing them is what I really want to do.

What are you most excited about?
Everything! Mostly starting class and getting back to learning.

What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
My 3-D printer.

What did you tell your parents when you left for school?
Thanks, I love you!

Maroon or Gold?
Why can’t I have both? If I had to choose, gold.

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Grace Nossaman

 

Grace Nossaman

Major: electrical engineering

Where are you from?
Chandler, Arizona

Why did you want to be an electrical engineer?
I have always loved playing with circuits, since my Grandpa gave them to me. Oh, and I also went to SEE@ASU and that helped me decide.

Why did you choose ASU?
The Fulton Schools are ridiculously good, and Barrett Honors was a draw.

Did you go to E2 Camp?
Yes, it was phenomenal and everyone should do it. It is fun, exciting, you meet new people and you get to make things.

What other schools did you consider?
Oklahoma State and the University of South Florida.

What is your dream job?
To be a spy or work at Disney World.

What are you most anxious about as school gets underway?
Finding my classes.

What are you most excited about?
Just to be here. To see what my classes are like and to meet new people.

What is you favorite thing you brought with you from home?
My Batman onesie

Maroon or Gold?
Gold

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Tony Pagnillo

 

Tony Pagnillo

Major: air traffic management

Where are you from?
Scottsdale, Arizona

Why did you pick your major?
I wanted to do pro flight, but I am partly color-blind so that wasn’t an option. Being in air traffic management gives me a good career path.

Why did you choose ASU?
I wanted to be close to home, my family is here and both my parents are alumni. Also, the air traffic management program at the Polytechnic School is one of few accredited programs. And I am a Sun Devil in heart and blood!

What is your dream job?
I want to own an airport in Spain.

What are you most looking forward to?
The social life and football. I’ve gone to some games, but I can’t wait to be in the student section!

What is your favorite thing you brought with you from home?
A picture of me and a friend I have known since kindergarten. And a picture of my dog.

What was the last thing your parents told you?
Good luck. Have fun. We love you.

 

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Philip Thomas

 

Philip Thomas

Major: mechanical engineering

Where are you from?
San Diego, California

Why engineering?
I have always been interested in building systems. I was in robotics since the 7th grade. I like designing and improving the efficiency of systems.

Did you go to E2 Camp?
Yes, and it was better than I expected. It was a lot of fun meeting new people and meeting my professors…that was surprising. I got to have lunch with them and learn about things at ASU.

Why did you choose ASU?
One, I got a scholarship. I’m a Barrett Honors student. Also, my brother went to Berkeley and it was vastly different. They focus less on undergraduates and you don’t get to meet your professors until you are an upperclassman. ASU is so undergraduate intensive and the faculty is dedicated to the students.

What other schools did you consider?
Cooper Union, the University of California San Diego, and Colorado School of Mines

Do you have a career goal?
I like robotics, but I am open and want to see where I excel.

What are you most anxious about?
Finals

What are you most excited about?
The many opportunities here in clubs, research, and entrepreneurship. Also, I just learned about Changemaker Central and that sounds like something I may want to get involved with.

What’s the last thing your parents told you?
Call at least once a week.

Maroon or Gold?
Both

Diba Pourazar

Diba Pourazar

 

Diba Pourazar

Major: Biomedical Engineering

Where are you from?
Iran, but I have lived in Scottsdale for the last 13 years.

Why do you want to be an engineer?
It just seems like something that will get me to a career where I can travel and help people and go on relief trips. I want to make something that helps people.

Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools?
I was interested in biology in high school and I wanted to go on relief trips. My aunt works for Medtronic and she kept telling me how ASU had really good engineering. And then she told me about BME and I thought ‘that sounds perfect. It sounds like the best.’

What other schools did you consider?
Tufts, NYU, UMASS, Barnard College

What what was your favorite part of E2?
Meeting everybody, my counselor and all the friends I made. It really made me feel really excited, because at first I was really hesitant.

What are you most anxious or excited about?
It’s really the same thing for both. I have picked so many classes and they all seem so overwhelmingly difficult. But at the same time they seem very interesting.

Maroon or Gold?
Maroon. My high school was maroon, so I am used to it.

Kenedy Bowen

Kenedy Bowen

 

Kenedy Bowen

Major: software engineering

Where are you from?
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Why did you want to become an engineer?
To make video games.

Why did you choose ASU?
The only school that had my major.

What other schools did you consider going to/get accepted to?
Auburn and Purdue

What was the last thing your parent(s) told you before you left home?
They told me to be safe.

What are you most excited about?
To make video games.

What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
My computer

Maroon or gold?
Gold

Vincent Kusumo

Vincent Kusumo

 

Vincent Kusumo

Major: industrial engineering

Where are you from?
Jakarta, Indonesia

Why did you choose ASU?
I wanted to come to a new place.

What was the last thing your parent(s) told you before you left home?
Love yourself.

What are you most excited about?
Making new friends.

Maroon or gold?
Gold

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Bryan Padilla

 

Bryan Padilla

Major: electrical engineering

Where are you from?
Chicago and, most recently, Chandler, Arizona

Why do you want to be an engineer:
My brother is in aerospace and I found it interesting. I like problem-solving and digital electronics, as well as working with circuits.

Why did you choose ASU?
There are so many opportunities here to meet people, do service…it makes it personalized even though it is a huge school. Plus it is excellent! Even my family in Ecuador knows about ASU and that it has a great engineering school.

What other schools did you consider?
The University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and Embry-Riddle

What’s your dream job?
I want to work for Audi designing electrical components for their cars. I love cars!

What scares you the most as a new ASU student?
Not being able to figure out what I want to do. Like community projects…there is so much to choose from.

What are you most excited about?
Football games.

What is your favorite thing you brought with you to school?
A snow globe of Chicago.

Maroon or Gold?
Gold

Sydney McLamb

Sydney McLamb

 

Sydney McLamb

Major: software engineering

Where are you from?
Laveen, Arizona

Why did you want to become an engineer?
I’ve always loved building things for others.

Why did you choose ASU?
It’s close to home and has a ton of opportunities.

What other schools did you consider going to/get accepted to?
Washington State and University of Utah

What was the last thing your parent(s) told you before you left home?
I love you.

What are you most excited about?
Sports, meeting new people and making something by myself.

What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
My Gloomy Bear pillow.

Maroon or gold?
Gold

Jose Luis Rivera

Jose Luis Rivera

 

Jose Luis Rivera

Major: Biomedical Engineering

Where are you from?
I was born in Ecuador, but I came from Puerto Rico.

Why do you want to be an engineer?
I want to do a lot of research. That’s really my main goal. Investigation, I am really interested in that. Nuerology is a real interest.

Why did you choose ASU/Fulton?
I liked the program. I read a lot of really good information about it and I just really liked the overall feel of it.

What other schools did you consider?
University of Puerto Rico, University of Iowa

What are you most anxious about?
Time management. I have always been hearing about how everything becomes hectic. I should be ok.

What are you most excited about?
Being alone and taking responsibility for myself. And making new friends.

What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
A picture book with pictures of friends and family.

What was the last thing your parents said to you?
Bye.

Maroon or Gold?
Maroon

 

Dylan Novak

Dylan Novak

 

Dylan Novak

Major: civil engineering

Where are you from?
Burlington, Vermont

Why did you choose ASU?
The rugby program. I’m into rugby, and I’m also into warm weather and I thought a change of scenery would be pretty good.

Why did you choose to study engineering?
Pretty much everybody in my family has a Ph.D. in engineering going back a couple of generations. My dad, his sister, both of his parents, my mom and her dad are all engineers.

What do you want to do with your degree?
I’m kind of leaning toward the construction management side of things. But at this point I just want to dive in and experience a lot of things and see what I like the most.

What are you most anxious about?
Chemistry was never a fun class for me in high school, and I heard chemistry courses in college are pretty hard, so I guess I’m anxious about that.

What are you most excited about?
I’m excited just to be here. It looks like a fantastic place.

What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
I brought some family photo albums. Those are pretty important to me because I have a brother and sister, they’re 12-year-old twins, and I would like to see them grow up. That’s probably my only regret about coming all the way across the country to go to school.

What was the last thing your parent said to you?
Don’t get F’s. Have fun. Don’t get into any trouble. I love you. You know, just the normal stuff.

Favorite ASU school color, maroon or gold?
Gold.

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Tyir Heywood

 

Tyir Heywood

Major: software engineering

Where are you from?
Ontario, California

Why did you choose the Polytechnic School?
My academic program is here, plus I like the environment, the size and the potential to work one on one with my professors.

What other schools did you consider?
The University of Las Vegas

Did any of your family go to ASU?
Yes, my brother.

What is your dream job?
I would like to build apps or work at a big company like Apple or Microsoft.

What are you most excited about?|
Learning how to create new things, learning how to code. And meeting new people.

What is your favorite thing you brought with you from home?
My Xbox.

What was the last thing your parents told you?
Be safe and stay out of trouble.

Maroon or Gold?
Gold

Clarissa Ortega

Clarissa Ortega

 

Clarissa Ortega

Major: civil engineering

Where are you from?
Avondale, Arizona

Why did you choose to study engineering at ASU?
My sister is a landscape architect and once she showed me a plan from the engineering firm she was working with. It had all these pages of math that they did and showed all the problems they were trying to solve. It involved so much math it was ridiculous, and I just fell in love with it.

What was your favorite part of E2 Camp?
S’mores.

And there was also this 30-foot tightrope strung from trees that you had to walk across and this log you had to walk across and jump off, and it was pretty scary, but fun. It was also nice to get to know different people and faculty and know that I am not in this all by myself.

Has anyone else in your family gone to ASU?
My sister graduated in the class of 2015 in landscape architecture.

What are you most anxious about?
I think I’m scared of some of the classes being too hard. But I know there will be help out there, and I not afraid to ask for help, so I think I will be OK.

What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
Pictures of my two brothers and three sisters, and my boyfriend. They’re a big part of my life.

What was the last thing your parents said to you?
My mom said to eat healthy and not be on my phone so much and to go to bed early.

What did you say to them?
I told them not to worry about me. I’ll be fine. And I’m only 30 minutes away from them.

Favorite ASU school color, maroon or gold?
Gold.

Shane Pethers

Shane Pethers

 

Shane Pethers

Major: engineering management

Where are you from?
Spokane, Washington

Why did you choose ASU?
The internships and great location.

What other schools did you consider going to/get accepted to?
University of Washington

What was the last thing your parent(s) told you before you left home?
Good luck and you’ll do great.

What are you most excited about?
Going to Sun Devil sporting events.

Maroon or gold?
Maroon

 

Alex Reyes Pacheco

Alex Reyes Pacheco

 

Alex Reyes Pacheco

Major: software engineering

Why did you want to become an engineer?
So that I could make engineer money.

Where are you from?
Chandler, Arizona

Why did you choose ASU?
It’s the best school in the best state.

What other schools did you consider going to/get accepted to?
NAU and Harvard

What was the last thing your parent(s) told you before you left home?
To be careful.

What are you most excited about?
The new environment.

Maroon or gold?
Maroon

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Patrick Geel

 

Patrick Geel

Major: electrical engineering

Where are you from?
Amsterdam, but most recently from Tempe, Arizona

What influenced your decision to be an engineer?
One, my dad is an engineer. Also, I love to solve problems and work together with other people to come up with a solution.

Why did you choose ASU?
It was close to home. The other schools I was considering were in Holland.

What do you hope to do with your engineering degree?
I would like to work in aeronautics, on airplanes or in aerospace. I have always had a passion for aviation.

What are you most excited about?
Meeting new friends and applying learning to what I want to do in life.

What is your favorite thing you brought with you to campus?
I live at home…so, myself.

Maroon or Gold?
Gold

 

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Olivia Gonzalez

 

Olivia Gonzalez

Major: biomedical engineering

Where are you from?
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

Why did you choose ASU?
My family is moving here.

What other schools did you consider?
NYU

Why biomedical engineering?
I had health problems when I was young and that influenced what I wanted to do. I’m thinking of pre-med or something in neurology.

What was your favorite thing about E2 camp?
The forest.

What are you most anxious about?
This whole new environment, both in terms of learning and living—learning to live in the desert, making new friends and managing my classes.

What are you most excited about?
The same things, really. Starting over in a different environment where people are passionate about learning, both in Fulton and in Barrett.

What is your favorite thing you brought with you to school?
My Chaco sandals.

What words of advice did your parents give you?
Stay true to yourself.

 

Nicole Baltazar

Nicole Baltazar

 

Nicole Baltazar

Major: aerospace engineering

Where are you from?
Oahu, Hawaii

Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
I knew I wanted to go away for college. ASU’s location is great – there’s no cold weather and I’m going to do the 4+1 [accelerated bachelor’s and master’s] program.

What was your favorite activity at E2?
The low ropes! It builds trust with your team and critical thinking.

Did you bring anything from home?
Pictures so I don’t get homesick. I also bought a sheepskin rug for my dorm room. It’s a smaller version of the one my dog sleeps on at home.

Did your parents give you any advice?
Don’t party all the time and remember my focus. I’m also tiny so they said to be safe and aware of my surroundings.

What is your dream job?
I’m going to get a minor in interior design. I want to design the interiors of spaceships to improve the experience of astronauts. And someday I’ll go back to Hawaii and start a nonprofit organization.

Lewis Wise

Lewis Wise

 

Lewis Wise

Major: materials science and engineering

What high school did you attend?
I went to Mountain View High School in Mesa, Arizona.

Has anyone in your family gone to ASU?
No, I’m the first Sun Devil in my family. One of my parents went to UCLA and my grandparents probably went to college in Japan.

Why did you choose materials science?
My dad’s an engineer, he makes solar-powered traffic systems here in Tempe. My mom is a toxicologist. Materials science is a good mix of both my parents’ professions!

I’m a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed at 14 years old. In materials sciences, you can help so many different fields, and I hope to be able to help oncologists with my degree.

What are you looking forward to in your freshman year?
Meeting new people! ASU is so diverse, I’ve already met people from India and Washington, D.C. It’s so different from high school.

 

Yegor Zentov

Yegor Zenkov

 

Yegor Zenkov

Major: materials science and engineering

Where are you from?
My family is from Russia, I speak and write in Russian fluently. I spent part of my time here in Tempe and part in Russia growing up.

Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
The location and financials were attractive. Materials Science and Engineering is a small program with a good reputation. Plus, I went to Barrett Honors Camp, Summer Transportation Institute and the Southwest Summer Debate Institute camps at ASU for two summers in a row. It was kind of a given.

How did you become an engineer?
I was a Boy Scout and interested in knives, which turned into an interest in metallurgy and materials science. Plus in this degree I can study nuclear reactions.

What are you looking forward to?
Everything! There’s so much to do, research, meet people, pursue your own interests. You really can do whatever you want.

What was your favorite activity at E2?
The tinker toys. There’s four people on a team, two communicators, an observer and a builder. The builder has to build a structure that only one person has seen and the whole time you’re being distracted. It was so much fun!

 

Samantha Matta

Samantha Matta

 

Samantha Matta

Major: biomedical engineering

Where are you from?
Phoenix area

Why did you choose ASU/Fulton?
The engineering school is really good, which is why I chose it over the UofA. And the tuition.

What other schools did you consider?
Stanford, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, University of Washington

What was your favorite part of E2?
It was a lot of fun. I liked the team building activities. And just meeting all of the other engineering students and realizing they are not as socially awkward as they are made out to be. We did an ASU 101, which was really good to learn about what to except at the university. It was cool to know the faculty actually cares and it is not just a huge engineering school.

Why do you want to be an engineer?
I am really interested in ophthalmology, so I am actually on the pre-med track. I am not just interested in ophthalmology, but I am interested in the development of it, so making machines for it. I am hoping to do both.

What are you most anxious about?
The classes. I am nervous for the workload.

What are you most excited about?
The classes. I am excited just be learning things that I am actually interested in. I am excited to meet the professors and get into their research and figure out what they are doing. The clubs seem awesome, they is everything you can imagine. And of course meeting people.

About The Author

Fulton Schools

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