Hometown: Born in Ethiopia and moved to the Twin Cities with his family at age 3.
Favorite pastime: As part of the St. Thomas Rocket Team club, I like to gaze upon the launched rockets as they soar into the heavens.
What has been the impact St. Thomas has had on your aspirations? My parents originally wanted me to be a doctor, but after transferring to St. Thomas’ School of Engineering in 2020 for mechanical engineering, the connections, curriculum and professors are what helped me see where I wanted to go.
How were your student connections? The biggest thing that contributed to connecting with other students was being a lab assistant for two different labs and working tool crib where students can
check out tools they need for projects. The repeated interactions allowed for familiarity and having shared challenges helped strengthen that bond.
How would you describe your professors? The professors are very personable. At the end of your degree, you are friends with your professors. They know you by name. When you walk down the hall and say, “‘Hey, Dr. Whoever,’ some of them are like, ‘Don’t call me ‘doctor.’”
What did you enjoy the most at St. Thomas? I definitely enjoyed the small class sizes and being able to interact with professors and trusting that the professors know what they are talking about and are going to teach it well. Engineering is a hard major. Their goal isn’t to get 20% of the class to drop out. That’s not what’s going on here. St. Thomas wants you to do well, wants you to graduate and wants you to be good at your job.
This story is featured in the spring 2022 issue of St. Thomas Engineer.