Involvement

As a Robotics & Mechatronics Engineering Student Assistant and Outreach Representative within Kennesaw State University’s Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, I supported outreach and recruitment efforts for the Robotics & Mechatronics Engineering program. My role combined event support, communication, student outreach, and program representation, giving me the opportunity to connect directly with prospective students, families, educators, and current students.

A major part of my work involved helping coordinate campus tours, open houses, school outreach visits, information sessions, and other program events. During these events, I introduced students to the Robotics & Mechatronics Engineering major, explained course and career pathways, demonstrated robotics projects, answered questions, and helped make engineering feel more approachable to students who may not have had much prior exposure to the field.

I also supported the behind-the-scenes organization required to make these events run smoothly. This included coordinating schedules, preparing materials, communicating with participants, assisting faculty and staff, and adapting quickly when plans changed. Because I was often one of the first student representatives visitors interacted with, I learned how important it was to communicate clearly, stay organized, and represent both the program and Kennesaw State University professionally.

This position became especially meaningful to me because it allowed me to combine my engineering background with my interest in outreach and mentorship. It strengthened my communication, presentation, leadership, organization, and problem-solving skills while also giving me the chance to help prospective students see themselves in engineering. Being able to share my own experiences as a Robotics & Mechatronics Engineering student made the role feel personal, and it reinforced how much I enjoy connecting technical work with people and education.

I began undergraduate research at Kennesaw State University through the First-Year Scholars Program, where I joined the Synergy Robotics Lab and started working with the Unitree Go1 quadruped robot. Over the next several years, my research experience expanded across multiple projects involving robotics, autonomous systems, ROS, LiDAR, SLAM, YOLO-based object detection, digital twins, and intelligent manufacturing.

Through these projects, I presented at KSU’s Symposium of Student Scholars, contributed to research publications and conference submissions, and collaborated with faculty, graduate students, and other undergraduate researchers. My work gave me experience across both hardware and software while strengthening my technical communication, documentation, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.

My research also gave me the opportunity to explore very different sides of engineering, from quadruped robotics and autonomous sensing to computer vision, digital twins, and manufacturing automation. Working across those areas helped me become more adaptable and gave me a broader understanding of how robotics and mechatronics can be applied in both research and industry.

Undergraduate research has been one of the most influential parts of my engineering education. It allowed me to explore technical areas beyond the classroom, work through open-ended problems, and continuously build on what I learned from one project to the next. Those experiences continue to shape the kind of engineering work I’m interested in pursuing moving forward.

My connection with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers began before I started college. While leading Future Latinos in STEM in high school, I reached out to local SHPE chapters to help expose students at my school to different engineering disciplines and the college experience. After enrolling at Kennesaw State University, joining KSU’s SHPE chapter felt like a natural continuation of that experience.

Through SHPE, I’ve participated in professional-development workshops, networking opportunities, general body meetings, outreach events, company visits, and social events. The organization has helped me grow professionally while also giving me a community where I can connect with other Hispanic and Latino students pursuing STEM careers.

SHPE has been especially meaningful to me because it combines professional development, culture, community, and service. It has given me opportunities to learn from other engineering students and professionals while continuing to support outreach efforts that encourage younger students to see themselves in STEM.

I founded Future Latinos in STEM during my senior year of high school after researching the underrepresentation of Latinos and Hispanics in STEM and learning more about the role that mentorship, exposure, and access can play in whether students pursue technical careers.

The goal of the club was to make engineering and STEM pathways feel more accessible to students at my school. I reached out to organizations at Kennesaw State University and Georgia Tech, including their Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers chapters, and coordinated workshops where college students spoke about engineering majors, college life, and their experiences as Hispanic and Latino students in STEM.

Through the club, we hosted several events focused on engineering disciplines, navigating college as a Latina or Latino in STEM, and learning about different technical career paths. Creating the organization was one of my first experiences turning an idea into a real outreach initiative, and it later influenced my continued involvement in SHPE and engineering outreach at Kennesaw State.