Student Voices

Current students and recent alumni reflect on their personal and academic experiences in the College of Engineering

students at homecoming tent

The College of Engineering at UMass Amherst is a diverse college housed within a major research university, which allows our students to engage in hands-on engineering by conducting cutting-edge research, building team projects, and pursuing innovative, entrepreneurial ideas and solutions. Our student organizations reflect the diversity within our college and provide opportunities for experiential learning, professional development, peer-to-peer support, and community service.

As a student in the College of Engineering, the possibilities for making friends, making memories, and preparing for a rewarding career are truly endless. Below, you can hear from some of our recent graduates about how they made the most of their time on campus.

“I had an internship with the Fish and Wildlife Service with the fish passage engineering team. We designed fish ladders, dam removals, and culvert replacements, which combine structural, geotechnical water resources, and transportation engineering, so the Civil and Environmental Engineering curriculum set me up perfectly for that experience.”

Raul Vera '24

Civil and environmental engineering major Raul Vera was a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, conducted research with the Energy Transition Institute as well as watershed hydrology research with Dr. Christian Guzman, and interned with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's fish passage engineering team. He won the Undergraduate Sustainability Research Award, administered by the UMass Amherst Libraries, for his paper on the ongoing water crisis in the Nile Basin. Raul plans to attend graduate school to continue his hydrology/water resource research.
Learn more about the Energy Transition Institute
“UMass Amherst is filled with opportunities to grow and learn as a student and an individual. The College of Engineering is a strong community, both on campus and through the active alumni network, where there is a place for each and every student who wishes to be a part of it. They say you can make a big school feel small and the communities within the College of Engineering are a testament to that.”

Jessica Durkee '24

Jessica Durkee is an electrical engineering major, engineering management minor, and member of Commonwealth Honors College. During her time at UMass, she was an active member of the UMass chapter of the Society of Women Engineers and served as its Community Service Outreach Chair for the past two years. Over the past two years, she also worked on an NSF-funded project under Professor Dennis Goeckel studying the effect of RF Fingerprinting on covert communications. In addition, she played on the UMass Women's Club Rugby team (which placed second nationally last spring!) and participated in Project Connect, which allowed her to attend the 2023 International Microwave Symposium. After graduation, she began working on airborne radar systems at MIT Lincoln Laboratories.
Learn more about the Society of Women Engineers
“Being a student athlete has definitely come with its challenges, but it has prepared me well for whatever the future brings! My favorite part of my experience has been all of the people I met along the way. It is a great feeling being a part of a program that truly cares about my success on and off the field, and that is something I will cherish forever.”

Gabriella Curry '24

Gabriella Curry, chemical engineering major, was named this year’s UMass Amherst Fall Scholar Athlete for her excellence both on the field and in the classroom. She served as captain of UMass Women’s Soccer Team and was selected to the “Atlantic 10 All-Academic Teams” in 2022 and 2023. In addition, she completed an IALS Core Summer Internship in the university’s spectroscopy core facility. She is simultaneously enrolled in an accelerated (4+1) Master’s Program in Business Analytics, which she will complete in December of 2024 while continuing to play soccer for UMass as a graduate student.
Learn more about IALS Core Internships
“There’s something amazing about working with medical devices; the MedTech team enables students to gain valuable project experience while also making a difference in people’s lives.”

Aaryan Chaudhary '24

Aaryan Chaudhary is a biomedical engineering major and member of Commonwealth Honors College. He is also the Founder and President of UMass MedTech, which designs novel medical devices—currently they are developing a cost-effective osteoarthritis boot for home therapy. For his senior design project, he worked with a team of his peers to design a steering wheel cover that has the ability to detect strokes. For his honors thesis, he conducted research in the Human Robot Systems Lab on a novel robotic hip exoskeleton device intended to assist people with walking impairments. He also did a summer internship at Pfizer, and is part of Mass Mirchi, a Bollywood-fusion UMass dance club. After commencement, he began working as a Philips Software Test Engineer in Cambridge, MA.
Learn more about MedTech
“My favorite class has been senior design—I have enjoyed applying the engineering theory I have learned over the past four years of classes to develop a tangible product, based on a real client's need. I spent the year working with a team of five other BME seniors to collaboratively design, prototype, manufacture, and test a mechanical surgical assistive device for research use at the Department of Neurological Surgery at UMass Chan Medical School.”

Jack Muse '24

Jack Muse is a biomedical engineering major with a math minor. He conducted research in the Bailey Lab, where he planned, executed, and managed an independent honors thesis project studying prostate cancer cell line influence on osteoclasts and bone resorption in bone metastasis. He was also a peer mentor in Commonwealth Honors College, a TA for Statics and Dynamics, and a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society. He completed two summer internships, including one as a research intern at the University of Hamburg's Center for Hybrid Nanostructures, in Germany.
Learn more about the Bailey Lab
“UMass Amherst has a vibrant campus life, with a wide variety of clubs, organizations, and activities available for students to get involved in. There are so many opportunities to create new initiatives and take on leadership roles outside of the academic curriculum. As a Civil Engineering major, I found all of these opportunities in SASE (Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers). It is truly a rewarding experience to be a part of the executive board and take part in its growth over the years.”

Lucia Pan '23

During her time at UMass, civil engineering major Lucia Pan completed internships at J.Ottman Consulting and Suffolk Construction, worked part-time as a data analyst for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and spent a summer conducting water quality research on campus. She also served as President of the UMass Amherst Chapter of the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers. After graduation, Lucia began a full-time construction management position with Suffolk Construction.
Learn more about the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers
“The UMass National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Chapter gave me the confidence to take ownership of my chemical engineering degree and education. I highly encourage prospective students of color to join Engineering Student Organizations, so they can expand their potential and amplify their ideas with like-minded students while also pouring out innovative ideas to the rest of campus.”

Oliver Arukwe '23

Oliver Arukwe, who majored in chemical engineering, was been a Teaching Assistant for Heat and Mass Transfer, served on the Chemical Engineering DEI Committee, participated in the Leadership Academy, and completed a Process Engineering internship at the engineering consulting company Burns & McDonnell. After graduation, he moved to Houston, TX, to join Burns & McDonnell as an Assistant Chemical Engineer, where he assists project teams in creating and executing designs for a wide variety of projects, including power, process, healthcare, airport, industrial, manufacturing, and government facilities.
Learn more about the National Society of Black Engineers
“A large part of my life at UMass was Engineers Without Borders. From picking up trash and doing yard work, to traveling to Kenya, I firmly believe it is an experience that not many people have, and UMass gave that to me. It really did make me into a global citizen.”

Siddhanth Ghosh '23

In addition to his involvement in Engineers Without Borders, computer engineering major Siddhanth Ghosh conducted research in the Water & Energy Technology Center, the Peltier Aerosol Lab, and the SMELT Lab at UMass Amherst. He also completed an internship with Dell Technologies, where began working full-time as a Solutions Architect after graduation.
Learn more about Engineers Without Borders
“I was able to pursue 8 internships at 6 different companies across 4 separate states. From these opportunities, I was able to understand how individual systems interconnected and functioned under the vision of their owners, management, and overseeing leadership at companies of varying sizes and industries. I can confidently say that I would not be where I am today if it weren't for the first steps I took through the professional resources within the College of Engineering.”

Jabin Chen '23

During his time at UMass, mechanical engineering major Jabin Chen completed an incredible 8 internships, including experiences at Amazon, Tesla, Rivian, and Nanoramic Laboratories. In addition, he worked for the College of Engineering's Career Development and Experiential Learning Center, where he has helped guide other students along their own career journeys. After graduation, he moved to Seattle, WA, to join Blue Origin as a Manufacturing Engineer for Valves and Mechanisms, where he works on building rockets and helping build a future in space for the benefit of Earth.
Learn more about the Career Development and Experiential Learning Center

Ian Goodine & Ethan Walko '21, '22 MS | co-founders of rStream

Hear about their journey from a student project to the launch of their business. 

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Read more stories about the undergraduate experience at the UMass Amherst College of Engineering: