Outstanding Graduate, Fall 2019
Andrew Gin
Andrew Gin’s decision on where to go to school was easy — he lived all around Arizona and both of his parents are Arizona State University alumni.
“I grew up a Sun Devil fan,” says Gin. “I also knew that ASU had one of the best engineering programs in the country so it was a perfect fit.”
Gin knew he wanted to be an engineer when he first arrived on campus, but he didn’t know what he wanted to do exactly. After a year, that changed.
“I took a psychology class as an elective and was fascinated with how the human brain works and why people do the things they do,” says Gin. “I found this new field called human systems engineering that combined both engineering and psychology together into one degree and I was sold after that.”
“Human systems engineering is a fairly new field,” says Gin. “However, more and more companies are acknowledging the impact that human systems engineering brings.”
Gin says that the biggest thing it can bring is a focus on the user by making sure they are priority number one.
“There are a lot of products out there that are functional yet no one can use them, or even worse a product that nobody needs or wants,” says Gin. “Human systems engineering ensures that user expectations are met and regarded to throughout the design process. This creates a product that people need and can easily use.”
The New American University Scholar plans to pursue a master’s degree in human systems engineering with an emphasis on user experience.
Gin was a member of the ASU Human Factors and Ergonomics Society student chapter, where he worked with his fellow students as well as faculty to study the design of products, processes and systems to better suit human cognitive abilities.
Gin encourages students to join a club or find other students with the same major to collaborate with.
“It’s hard not to focus on grades and all the schoolwork that we are given each semester,” says Gin. “But, I think the most important thing students get out of college is making connections and building experience through internships.”
Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ fall 2019 class here.