Engineering Your Future

Julia came to Future Stars uncertain of what she wanted to study in college. She was a dedicated ballet dancer and her academic interests were centered on math and science. In working with her Future Stars counselor, Julia came to realize that — while she loved performing — her future would not be as a professional dancer. As high school continued, Julia enrolled in and enjoyed advanced classes in math and science. Her Future Stars counselor suggested that she explore the field of engineering and exposed her to a few summer programs where she could learn more about it and which discipline best suited her. 

The summer after her junior year, Julia attended two engineering programs at different universities and it was at one of them where she discovered a passion for biomedical engineering. With her mind now set on engineering, it was time to find the right university and help her stand out among all the other qualified applicants. Julia struggled with writing the college essay at first, but her counselor kept her moving forward in exploring possible topics. They soon realized that she should write about her summer experience and the moment when biomedical engineering became the focus of her future. From that point forward, the essay was less daunting as she told the story of her light-bulb moment. In her essay, Julia even went on to connect dance with biomedical engineering as she shared her ultimate goal of one day designing artificial muscles, ankles and hips for severely injured dancers who no longer have the ability to do what they love.

As far as finding the right place for Julia to study engineering, it turned out to be the university that had hosted the summer program where her interest was first sparked. Julia currently attends Purdue University and is on her way to making her career dreams a reality.