Hello! My name is James Lilyquist and I’m a mechanical engineering student at Virginia Tech. My interest in engineering was first piqued due to the fact that my Grandpa was an engineer. He was a contractor for NASA and worked on the astronaut’s space suits for the Saturn missions. He’s met multiple astronauts that have been to space and has great stories about his time working in that job. My Dad also has an engineering background as he majored in Ocean Engineering at the Naval Academy. I decided mechanical was the best path for me mostly because of its vast scope. Mechanical engineers work with many different machines and software. I have spent some time working with some of the more basic ones in my high school engineering class, at the James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center, which will likely give me a small leg ahead in my studies.

As a freshman in college, at the time of writing this, I can say that my love of math has driven me to take the most challenging math classes I can up to this point. In highschool I took a double block of math (Algebra II and Pre-Calculus),  AP Calculus AB as well as BC and this year I’ll be taking linear algebra in the fall, followed by multivariable calculus in the spring. As I mentioned earlier, in high school I was in the Engineering program at our Tech Center which provided me with a solid base of engineering understanding and many hands-on skills essential to a career in the engineering field. I am also taking general chemistry this semester, a very important class in engineering education. All of these are steps that will be very helpful both later in my continued education and in the career field.

During my time in high school I participated in two sports, I was on the Leonardtown High School Sailing team, and have played recreational soccer ever since I can remember. I’ve learned many skills from these activities, especially sailing. I’ve learned good communication skills essential to being part of a team, as well as the dedication needed to make improvements in virtually anything. I plan to join numerous clubs, similar to my activities in high school, now in college, which I hope will help strengthen these skills even further. In this period I also served on my Church Council, making decisions for the better of the church. These include methods used within the worship space to safety and budget decisions. The knowledge I’ve gained from this experience is exponentially useful, I’ve learned many leadership skills and how to deal with adversity, a skill indispensable to life in general.

After graduating from Virginia Tech I hope to land an exceptional job in the engineering field, possibly through internships I do during my time here. From then on my goal will be to do the best I can in said job and use my position and education to better the lives of people both in my community and the greater world.