Communication / Campus Leadership

Pi Tau Sigma: Sigma Zeta Chapter

I am the former President of Pi Tau Sigma: Sigma Zeta Chapter. This organization is a national mechanical engineering honor society and only allows admittance to those who show elite academic performance. My junior year I had the role of Communications Officer and in this role, I founded the underclassman tutoring service, where the organization provided one on one assistance to underclass mechanical engineering majors. As President, I have worked to expand this service and have been trying to use the online format of this semester to serve an even wider group of students.

Tau Beta Pi: Texas Epsilon

Tau Beta Pi is the oldest engineering honor society in the nation, established in 1885. This organization has very strict eligibility requirements as well as a very time-consuming and extensive application and induction process. While jumping through hoops to join this organization, I was resentful of the time wasted on what seemed like meaningless tasks (polishing the already spotless TBP Bent for example). But after initiation I understood the necessity of these tasks, these challenges truly prove that every member is dedicated to joining this organization and they create a bond among the TBP members that is difficult to recreate.

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ASME is the first organization I joined on campus and it is where I have been the most continually active, attending most of the informational and educational events. My sophomore year I wanted to be more involved in the organization so I joined a committee dedicated or organizing outreach events and encouraging interest in mechanical engineering in the younger population. After a year in this role, I decided I wanted to have a more direct impact on the lives of others and I joined the ASME Mentorship Program. In this program, an upperclassmen Mentor is assigned to several underclassman Mentees. In this role, I work with the underclassmen to develop their professional profile and advise them academically and personally. I truly value the opportunity ASME has given me to help others.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics

My involvement in IEEE is primarily through the Robotics and Automation Society. I was the Mechanical Lead for the VEX Competitive Robotics Team and I was officially responsible for the design and fabrication of the robot. Unofficially, I was also responsible for the lines of communication between the programming team and the mechanical team, ensuring subgroups were organized and on the same page. This role as a communication bridge arguably taught me more about both subteams than any of the mechanical problem-solving performed for this project. Creating this robot was a constantly engaging problem-solving process and I truly enjoyed it as a getaway from my academic stresses.

Robotic Knuckles is a project run through the Robotics and Automation Society and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. For this project, I was a contributing member of the software sub-team and an observed as a noncontributing member of the mechanical sub-team. Much like in my previous robotics experience, I tried to function as a line of communication between the mechanical and software subteams. This required me to develop a fundamental understanding of all aspects of the project and allowed me to truly get the most out of it.

For more information and photos of these robotics projects, select the following link to my Engineering Portfolio.

Catholic Student Organization

Freshman year of college I joined a Men’s group hosted by the Catholic Student Organization at the University of Houston. At the time I was not a member of CSO, I simply heard about the group through Mass. I was profoundly moved by the discussions in these group meetings and in the years since I have expanded my involvement in the organization. I have since led several men’s groups and I and participated extensively in the UH Breakfast Club, which meets weekday mornings for rosary and breakfast. CSO’s strong community has supported me in the struggles with my faith.

San Marcos Leo Club

My Father is in the Lions Club and growing up I regularly volunteered with him at Lions events. In my freshman year of high school, I heard about the Leo Club, a high school or collegiate version of the Lions Club. San Marcos High School did not have a Leo Club but it turns out it isn’t very hard to start a club! My sophomore year I was an officer and founding member of the San Marcos High School Leo Club. I later went on to become president, and with the help of collaboration with the San Marcos Lions Club, we developed the club into one of the largest service organizations on campus.

San Marcos High School FFA

I will never forget the day my welding teacher asked if I wanted to raise a pig and I truly thought he was making a joke. However, he was not kidding and he persisted, so I soon found myself raising a market swine for the Hays County Livestock show. I ended up really fitting into the FFA community and I got significantly more involved. I became the Recruitment Officer my Junior year and did my best to spread the word and show people all of the unique experiences FFA had to offer. I competed with market swine, breeding swine, and in the agriculture and mechanics (welding) competition. In my senior year, I won Grand Champion Breeding Swine and Reserve Grand Champion Ag-Mech welding project. For more information on my welding projects, select the following link to my Engineering Portfolio.