Get to know the class of 2020!
Every year during the sweltering heat and hustle and bustle of Fall Welcome, we pull aside a few freshman to get to know some of the new additions to the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Read on to learn a little about the class of 2020 — the class so nice, they named it twice.
Alan Potter
Major: information technology
Where are you from?
Maricopa, Arizona
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
ASU really worked with me to get me here. I’m in the military, in the Army Reserve, and ASU did a lot to reach out to me and prepare me to go from the military to college.
What was your favorite part of E2?
Building things with TINKERTOY® sets. We did like a game. One person had to look at a structure and then describe it to another person, who had to build a structure with the toy set and see how close it came to the actual structure that the first person had described.
What other schools did you consider?
After all the help ASU offered me, I didn’t consider any other schools.
What do you want to do with your degree and what is your dream job?
I want to be a network architect and help people manage the security of their networks.
What are you most anxious about?
I’m anxious about meeting new people. Coming out of the military, I’m not used to being with a lot people in a friendly environment. I did duty in some unfriendly, high-pressure environments. So a friendly environment is something I have to get used to.
What was the last thing your parents said to you? What did you say to them?
They said they are very proud of me. They never went to college because they didn’t have the opportunity to go. They just told me to work hard, focus on school and do well.
Maroon or Gold?
Maroon
Lauren Slim
Major: biomedical engineering
Where are you from?
Tuba City, Arizona
Why do you want to be an engineer?
There aren’t a lot of Native American females in the engineering field and I have a passion for math and science, so those things combined really drove me to want to become an engineer.
Has anyone else in your family gone to ASU?
My mom went to ASU! I’m a second generation Sun Devil.
What other schools did you consider?
I also considered New York University, but it was really far away from home.
What do you want to do with your degree and what is your dream job?
I haven’t gotten that far. I’m just going with the flow right now.
What are you most excited about?
I’m really excited to go to sporting events like homecoming.
What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
That would have to be my laptop — mainly because it’s my TV away from home.
Maroon or Gold?
Maroon
Courtney Ng
Major: robotics engineering
Where are you from?
Palm Springs, California
Why do you want to be an engineer?
Back in sixth grade I started doing robotics and knew that was what I wanted to do. When I learned what ASU is doing in robotics, I knew this is where I wanted to be.
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
Because I could major in robotics engineering, and the financial aid.
What was your favorite part of E2?
Sparky’s Great Adventure. It was a relay race. We had to complete certain tasks in as fast a time as possible. It was a lot of fun.
Has anyone in your family gone to ASU?
I’m the first in my family to go to college.
What other schools did you consider?
I considered Northern Arizona University and California Baptist University, but I just loved the Polytechnic School at ASU so much that is was a no-brainer to decide to come here.
What was the last thing your parents said to you? What did you say to them?
My dad said, “Don’t get into trouble.” My mom said, “Make sure you eat.”
Maroon or Gold?
Maroon
Kieonte Ellington
Major: exploratory
Where are you from?
Phoenix, Arizona
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
It has always been a dream of mine to go to ASU! I have always loved Sun Devil sports, and I will be going to every game! ASU is the best school in the whole southwest. I will be participating in intramural sports for sure.
What other schools did you consider?
Didn’t consider other schools.
What do you want to do with your degree and what is your dream job?
I am still trying to find my way.
What are you most excited about?
I’m excited about getting involved and doing intramural sports.
Maroon or Gold?
Gold!
Nicki Mullins
Major: environmental resource management
Where are you from?
Tucson, Arizona
Why do you want to be an engineer?
Well it really was the environmental aspect that got me interested, but I went with engineering because I’m good at math. I was in an environmental science class in high school, which I really enjoyed so I wanted to pursue it more.
What was your favorite part of E2?
The team building activities — building a boat and the bridge on the first day. It was really cool to meet people and then immediately start working with them. It was really fun, I enjoyed it a lot.
Has anyone else in your family gone to ASU?
No, both my parents and my older sibling all went to University of Arizona.
What other schools did you consider?
I considered University of Arizona, and I also applied to NAU but didn’t really consider going there.
What are you most anxious about?
I have chemistry all day Thursday. I have lab and recitation in the morning and then a lecture too. It’s probably going to suck, but I wanted to get it out of the way.
What was the last thing your parents said to you? What did you say to them?
We said goodbye and hugged. That was about it!
Maroon or Gold?
Probably maroon, to match the hair, basically.
Alissa Ray
Major: electrical engineering
Where are you from? Grew up in Tempe
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
The Fulton Schools of Engineering is the BEST SCHOOL in the country! I have been motivated to come to FSE — so I put my mind to it — and there was no other choice!
What other schools did you consider?
I wouldn’t consider ANY other school! ONLY ASU!
What are you most anxious about?
I am a little nervous, but I am totally prepared — there is so much help here. There is tutoring and advisors who will help me. I have a bunch of friends here who will help me, too.
What are you most excited about?
I’m excited about making new friends and joining clubs. I want to get engulfed in everything here! I can’t wait to experience it all! I am going to all of the games… ALL OF THEM!
Maroon or Gold?
Maroon
Derek Fermaint
Major: computer systems engineering and astrophysics
Where are you from?
Chandler, Arizona
Why do you want to be an engineer?
I want to get my doctorate in astronautics.
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
I love being surrounded by NERDS! I can talk about sci-fi and motherboards with everyone — and everyone is like me! I want to get involved in everything — there are so many opportunities I don’t know how to choose.
What are you most excited about?
I want to do undergraduate research with the Fulton Undergraduate Research Experience. I am super excited about doing robotics.
Maroon or Gold?
Maroon
David Lopez
Major: software engineering
Where are you from?
Phoenix, Arizona
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
I chose ASU because it was the closest to home and the cheapest for my family. But not only that, ASU has a really good engineering program, so I got lucky there.
What other schools did you consider?
I was also considering the UA, because I have family down there.
What do you want to do with your degree and what is your dream job?
My dream job is to work in gaming.
What are you most excited about?
I’m eager to continue my knowledge of coding and different techniques and overall learning how computers work.
What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
My skateboard. It’s my most reliable method of transportation around campus.
What was the last thing you said to your parents?
“Hey, I’m going to ASU. Be back later.” …because I live off campus with my parents.
Maroon or Gold?
Maroon
Alexis Wade
Major: industrial engineering
Where are you from?
Tucson, Arizona
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
When I was applying to ASU, I was looking at majoring in business and ASU has a better business school than UA, to put it bluntly. I wanted the best, because I want to be the best. And it turns out ASU has a great engineering school as well.
Has anyone else in your family gone to ASU?
No, I’m actually the first!
What do you want to do with your degree and what is your dream job?
My dream job is working at Raytheon.
What are you most anxious about?
Finding my classes!
What are you most excited about?
I’m probably most excited to start classes. I really enjoy school and learning.
What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
I have a really tiny picture of me, my mom and dad. I’m five years old in the picture and I just love it.
Maroon or Gold?
Maroon
Ryan Bodhipaksha
Major: robotics engineering
Where are you from?
My family is from Thailand, but I was born in Mesa, Arizona and grew up living in Phoenix.
Why do you want to be an engineer?
I’ve wanted to do engineering since I was in fifth grade. I have always been interested in three-dimensional pieces and parts, and always liked playing with LEGO blocks and building things and solving problems and seeing how things work.
What was your favorite part of E2?
An activity where people had to get through a spider web without touching it. Whenever they touched it, it made it harder for everyone else to get through the web. That took a lot of teamwork and that was a lot of fun.
What do you want to do with your degree or what is your dream job?
It would be working with prosthetics, because I like the feeling of helping people regain an ability. And I’ve always liked robotics, so applying them to helping people is something that is really meaningful to me.
What are you most anxious about?
About my classes and being able to pass them.
What are you most excited about?
I’m excited to meet new people. This may be the only chance I ever get to meet so many people in one place.
What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
I brought the biggest pillow I had. It’s a Crush pillow, named after the turtle character in [the movie] “Finding Nemo.”
Maroon or Gold?
I’m going with gold.
Sheridan Hill
Major: biomedical engineering
Where are you from?
Chandler, Arizona
Why do you want to be an engineer?
I really like math and science and I may want to go to medical school, so biomedical engineering seems like a good way to prepare for that.
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
ASU is close to home and it’s world-renowned in engineering, and there are lots of opportunities to do research and internships. And I have some cousins and friends that have been in engineering here and they have really liked it. They say it’s difficult but it’s worth it. They say they’ve learned a lot.
What are you most anxious about?
Getting adjusted to a totally new environment. There are so many people here.
What are you most excited about?
Classes and new challenges.
What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
I have really nice calculator.
What was the last thing your parents said to you? What did you say to them?
They said “Make good choices.” And I said, “I will. Thank you. Goodbye.”
Maroon or Gold?
Maroon
Willy Hua
Major: mechanical engineering
Where are you from?
San Diego, California
Why did you want to be an engineer?
To follow in my dad’s footsteps.
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
It was best school out of all those I applied to.
What other schools did you consider?
San Diego State University, San Jose State University and University of California, Irvine.
Has anyone else in your family gone to ASU?
No one.
What are you most anxious about?
Studying.
What are you most excited about?
College life. Meeting new people, trying new things.
Maroon or Gold?
Gold
Michelle Burke
Major: civil engineering
Where are you from?
I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but we moved around a lot because my father was in the military. Now we live in Gilbert, Arizona.
Why do you want to be an engineer?
I was going through an introduction to engineering class in high school and we talked about civil engineering, and I thought It was very interesting. So here I am.
What other schools did you consider?
I considered the UA and NAU because I wanted to stay in Arizona, but the engineering school at ASU is so successful that this was the place to be.
What do you want to do with your degree or what is your dream job?
Something that helps people and the environment.
What are you most anxious about?
The workload and being able to manage my time, because I really want to get involved with a lot of things here and join student clubs. I’m not sure how everything is going to fit into place.
What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
I brought a blanket from home. We call it our Betsy Blanket because our Aunt Betsy made it, and it just smells of home and it’s soft and it’s that little piece of home I could bring with me.
What was the last thing your parents said to you? What did you say to them?
We didn’t say very much. We did the long hugs and then the group hug, and you could feel the love. My mother started tearing up.
Maroon or Gold?
Maroon
Chris Dlamini
Major: Exploratory
Where are you from?
Swaziland, southern Africa
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
I learned about the Fulton Schools engineering programs from my high school. I chose ASU because it has a BIG community and I love the state of Arizona.
What are you most anxious about?
I thought I was going to be anxious moving to another country, but everyone has been so friendly – it has completely eased my mind.
What are you most excited about?
I am most excited about going to my classes and also seeing an American football game. I played rugby in high school but I have never seen an American football game before. It is going to be fun. I might try to join the rugby team here at ASU, too.
Maroon or Gold?
Gold!
Sean Rollins
Major: electrical engineering
Where are you from?
Santa Rosa, California
Why did you want to be an engineer?
Because my father is an electrical engineer, working in telecoms. There’s a lot of money in engineering, and this way, I’ll be producing something rather than pesky business majors with their money changing hands.
Why did you choose ASU and the Fulton Schools of Engineering?
Well ASU has the largest engineering program in the nation, as well as the No. 1 engineering school in the southwest. Also I have a lot of family down here.
What was your favorite part of E2?
Gaga ball.
What are you most excited about?
Learning new things, meeting new friends and just having a good time.
What is your favorite thing you brought from home?
Maybe my PC that I built.
What was the last thing your parents said to you? What did you say to them?
Same sort of stuff I’ve been hearing for the last 18 years.
Maroon or Gold?
Gold, because I’m a bright person.