An Interest In Trades Led To Engineering

When did you decide you wanted to study engineering?

I come from a blue-collar trades family in a small town called Dashwood on Vancouver Island, and growing up I loved helping my dad in the shop. I was interested in the trades, but couldn’t decide on a which one I wanted to pursue. 

So I decided to try for engineering so I could get an overall view of everything in the most hands-on way as possible.

Do you have a sense of the program you’ll be applying for next year?

Right now mechanical engineering is my top choice. Overall, it just seems cool and interesting as well as being very hands-on and technical. I’m also very interested in aerospace, which is a program option you can pursue within mechanical engineering.

Mechanical engineering Aerospace

Do you feel like you’re developing new skills?

I was a studious student in high school, but I never really got the hang of sitting down to actively study. Here at UBC there’s so much new stuff that I’ve been learning and I’ve had to learn how to study. 

The courses are really interesting, but there is definitely a need to learn how to balance six courses and all their labs in one term.

I’m also learning a lot about communication. The engineering design courses have modules on communicating with stakeholders and with your team members. There’s a whole model of team development, from norming (getting to know each other) to performing, which is when you’re actually working well and delivering results.

Any advice for a high school student who is considering engineering?

Go for it! Engineering is such as versatile field and you learn so many different skills. 

When I talk with upper-year students it’s really exciting to hear how they are applying these skills in so many different kinds of jobs and areas. 

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