College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

2008 Ambassadors Profile
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Why I chose Iowa State: I decided to attend ISU because it was affordable and not to far away from home. I originally was looking for a university with an aerospace engineering degree and ISU has a very good program. My parents are both Cyclone alums and encouraged me to go to school here.

What has happened to you while at ISU that you weren't expecting: I never expected to switch my major from aerospace engineering, let alone be an economics major. A year and a half into my aerospace engineering program, I realized I did not enjoy my core aerospace classes and I couldn’t imagine myself working within aerospace in 30 years. So, I met with my advisor and we talked about different options I could take and decided on taking some exploratory courses that I might enjoy. I randomly happened to take an economics course that semester and found out a subject I knew nothing about was the perfect one for me.

Have you had any undergraduate research opportunites: As a freshman in aerospace engineering I participated in the freshman honors mentor and research program. The freshman honors program is a wonderful opportunity to jump right into research with a professor as a first year student. I worked with a group of four other students to construct an airfoil from a model of a humpback whale fin. We were trying to see if the tubercles (leading edge bumps) would increase lift and how it would affect drag and maneuverability through the air. It was a year long project that involved us constructing a model and testing it in the Bill James wind tunnel in Howe Hall. We requested funds, worked with professors and our mentor, had hands on experience with advanced instruments, and presented our work in a regional professional aerospace competition and placed second in the group competition. It was a very rewarding experience to have as a freshman, and allowed me to participate in the university and research on a much larger scale then many other students.

What was your first day on campus like: My first day of classes I didn’t know where I was going and was also late. I was in the wrong class for the first ten minutes of my very first course at Iowa State. I also remember going to the wrong classroom for my second class of the day.