Thank you to everyone who shared their SYP story with us for the 2019 SYP Story Contest. This is always a tough decision but we do enjoy hearing about so many great memories! Here are our winning entries that will be featured in the 2020 SYP Catalog!
Congratulations to Hailey G. for being our winner for the 2019 SYP Story Contest, Middle School level.
Here is Hailey’s story:
“My name is Hailey and I was extremely excited to go to Junior Women in Engineering (JWIE) sponsored by ITC Holdings because I didn’t know what field of engineering I want to pursue a career in. JWIE showed me insight into my future career options. This experience let me meet other crazy smart girls with the same interests. Getting to design prosthetic legs, building gliders, and making ice cream taught me about just a few of the many fields of engineering. I even got to learn about engineering off campus when we toured Quincy Mine, the wastewater treatment plant, and more. JWIE also allowed me to experience college life. Staying in the dorms, eating in the dining hall, and having class in actual classrooms and touring labs. Making fast food runs, attending the variety show, attending the block party, and going to Walmart were just a few of the many evening college life experiences. Spending time with other like-minded girls, and with what I learned at JWIE I am now more certain about my future and want to be either an electrical or computer engineer. I think that everyone should experience SYP before college. SYP is an excellent opportunity to be able to experience Michigan Tech and see some of the amazing opportunities that it has to offer. Experiencing what life has to offer after completing high school as a middle schooler will help me make smarter decisions about my future higher education. I really hope I can attend SYP next year!”
“There was just something about the whole experience I can hardly describe with words. I met so many wonderful, intelligent people, I got a glimpse of the incredible opportunities the Michigan Tech campus has to offer, and I feel that for once in my life I finally know what I want to do with my life. I want to go out and explore every corner of the world, like we did on all the excursions every evening; I now know that I have the capability to do just that during my time at college with study abroad programs. I want to work with my hands, just like we did blacksmithing and casting metal; I can easily get a grip on some hands-on work by majoring in mechanical engineering technologies, a major that dabbles in a bit of everything I love. I want to keep improving, to get better at being myself, so that I can be more prepared for the future. I think this experience was one of the first steps in that process. I had more fun in two weeks than I would have spending my summer at home. If I had to just pick one favorite part, I’d choose the whole thing! So for anyone even considering a program like this, do it! No one will experience it the same, but it’s guaranteed to be a great time.”