Meet Abhishek: Electrical Engineering ’13

My first journey from Hyderabad, India to Florida Tech was filled with many emotions like eagerness, anxiety and fear. Being the first of my family to come abroad for education, I had no clue about what the people, places and the environment was like here. I just knew one thing: electronics is what I love and in my opinion, Florida Tech offers the best electrical engineering programs with a focus on hands-on learning. With two bags and a sack full of hopes, I landed in Melbourne, Florida to experience a cool breeze gushing through the pitch green landscape.

The welcome I received at Florida Tech was amazing. As the weeks passed by, I met interesting people, joined various clubs and came across professors who were as passionate about electronics as I was. I knew right away knew this is where I always wanted to be. The feeling of homesickness and shyness faded in no time and I quickly adapted to the family-like environment at Florida Tech. Two years later, when someone asks me why I chose Florida Tech, I say you have to experience it to know why.

From orientation, homecoming , and the career fair and interview workshops, Florida Tech has a lot to offer to ensure you have the best college experience

The Clemente Center and the Denius Student Center have good facilities for chess, basketball, fitness, training and badminton. This is where you would most likely find me before or after classes. With the Panther Dining Hall providing an international cuisine that includes sushi and chicken biryani, there is a need of going to the gym regularly to offset the calories that come with the tempting cuisine.

Due to the broad nature and diverse learning styles of electronics around the world, traveling half-way across the globe to study electronics was a bold decision. But, I always wanted to learn at a reputable institution that has a low student-teacher ratio. This enabled me to understand the basics of electrical engineering and also do in-depth analysis of higher level courses. The ease, with which the professors teachings make the concepts easier for me to grasp. Nonetheless, I’ve had many instances of where I was stumped on an issue but professor’s office hours, student study groups and the Academic Support Center helped me ace my classes.

Being awarded the “Outstanding Senior in ECE – 2011-12 Award” not only boosted my confidence but also enabled me to engage with the Florida Tech engineering community better. This paved the way to many projects like the Enclosed Roller Coaster Vehicle (ERCV), a Senior Design project I will be showcasing at the upcoming Senior Design Showcase in April 2013 and in future blog posts. I like Dr. Kepuska’s research and courses in speech recognition and processing; this encouraged me to choose systems and information processing as my master’s program. It gets better – I get to take graduate classes while in my senior year through the Fasttrack program. How cool is that?!