Like so many of Maseeh College students, Alicia Antillon is the first in her family to attend college. A Mexican-American undergraduate from California, Alicia attributes much of her academic success to the unwavering support of her parents. While she is now pursuing a challenging course in Civil Engineering and is a stand out in the newest batch of Maseeh Student Ambassadors (representing the school in a variety of outreach efforts and tours on-campus), like many young people interested in STEM fields, her initial interest in engineering was not highly defined.
Alicia attended a college preparatory charter school, where she was one of only five Latinas in her class. Her choice of Maseeh College at Portland State University (PSU) was influenced by her desire to stay on the west coast, coupled with our reputation as a world-class school that emphasizes real-world preparation. However, her first year was affected by the challenges of the COVID pandemic and balancing family responsibilities. Despite these challenges, Alicia has persevered and is now a junior whose enthusiasm for water resources engineering was sparked during an upper-division Fluid Mechanics class taught by Annette Dietz. Alicia speaks highly of all of her Maseeh professors, noting that they “bring in their own personal relevant experience to the classroom, which has helped my learning [and] provide a grounded learning experience rather than theoretical problems for students to be engaged and prepared for the real world.“
Asked for her advice to current Maseeh College students, Alicia highly recommends building a network with Maseeh faculty, staff, and students, emphasizing the importance of networking for professional development. Her participation in the UESI Pipeline Student Competition allowed her to expand her professional network and gain insights into her career interests. Her notable achievement includes participation in the ASCE Utility Engineering & Surveying Institute (UESI) Pipeline Student Competition, at which she gained insights into utility engineering and surveying, as well as interacting with many companies and professionals who expanded her career opportunities and interests. She also lauds our Director of Career Services, Frank Goovaerts, who was instrumental in her resume building.
Embrace learning, and stay curious. . . .Yes things will get hard but remember the journey in engineering is a marathon. Stay passionate, preserve through the challenges and enjoy the rewarding experience of contributing to build society.
Looking toward her long-term career, Antillon envisions project management in her future. As for words of wisdom for the younger generations of aspiring engineers, Alicia suggests they ”embrace learning, and stay curious. Ask questions, in this field there is always continuous learning. Yes things will get hard but remember the journey in engineering is a marathon. Stay passionate, preserve through the challenges and enjoy the rewarding experience of contributing to build society.” As a young engineer, Alicia is optimistic about contributing to impactful projects in the future, particularly those addressing climate change and the growing need for sustainable infrastructure.