What's Next?

Post graduation pathways and opportunities

About the Presentation

Once you graduate, a whole world of opportunities opens to you! Should you continue on to get a masters degree or doctorate? Do you join a research lab to delve into the mysteries of engineering theory? Or do you get your hands dirty solving real-world problems in a manufacturing position? We’ll have people here to share their experiences down each of these roads, the opportunities they embraced and the things they might have regretted.

December 8, 2017

About the Presenters

Sarah Haight, Director of Engineering – Rekluse Motor Sports

Sarah graduated from Boise State’s Mechanical Engineering program in 2006. After earning her Masters degree, she worked Chrysler as a manufacturing engineer and at Motive Power as a Quality Manager. She returned to teach senior design at Boise State for a time, then moved on to Rekluse Motor Sports where she serves as their Director of Engineering. Sarah shares a broad perspective on the multiple options students have post-graduation.

Courtney Hollar – Graduate Research Assistant, Advanced Nanomaterials and Manufacturing Laboratory

After Courtney graduated with her Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering, she chose to pursue her Master’s degree and worked in Boise State’s Advanced Energy Lab with Dr. Yanliang Zhang. While there, she was awarded a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Courtney currently is collaborating with Dr. David Estrada in the Advanced Nanomaterials and Manufacturing Lab working with measurement of the thermal properties of nuclear materials.

J. Lars Dorr – Shell Solar Business Development, Americas

Lars left his position as a nuclear engineer at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard to pursue his passion for renewable energy as a part owner of Lewandowski Farms, Idaho’s first commercial wind project. His continued experience in utility-scale wind project development has afforded him a proficient understanding of the technical aspects of developing a wind project. This with his business experience has cultivated allowed him to pursue a variety of significant wind projects from local installations to his current national level position.

Holly Staffan, CPE – Hardware Engineer, HP Laser Jet, Hewlett-Packard

Holly is a native of eastern Washington and studied mathematics at Whitman College before moving to Boise in 1999. She graduated from Boise State with a BS in Mechanical Engineering in 2002. While attending BSU, Holly worked with TechHelp and what would become the New Product Development lab, focusing on CAD and FDM rapid prototyping. Holly joined Hewlett-Packard in 2002 as a Current Product Engineer for the LaserJet Supplies organization. She is currently a Hardware Engineer, working with a wide range of color LaserJet printers and MFPs. A member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) , she is also active in STEM outreach, volunteering with BSU, Women in Technical Careers and HP’s Young Employee Network.

Report abuse