Class of 2020: Love of all things STEM puts this graduate on path to help others

Alexandria Stephens is one of the members of the Spring Class of 2020 chosen as a student speaker at commencement. She is graduating with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, summa cum laude.

Hometown: Boston Heights, OH

High School: Nordonia High School

How did you come to choose your major?

For as long as I can remember, math and science were always my favorite subjects in school, so I knew my future career would need to involve both. I also wanted to work in the medical field, but I didn't really want to be the one directly interacting with patients. When I discovered biomedical engineering, I knew it was the perfect fit because it would allow me to use my interest in STEM to help others to live better lives.

What brought you to The University of Akron?

UA offers an affordable, respected education and is close to home. It also helped that I visited campus about 15 times for various school events over the years, so I was already a big Zippy fan.

What’s next?

I'll be working for Parker Hannifin in its Operations Leadership Development Program. This is a rotational program where I will work in several U.S. locations for a few months at a time to experience different environments and develop my leadership abilities. I'm very excited for this learning opportunity with such a great company! 

Q: Favorite campus activity?

A: This is a tough one because I was very involved on campus. I like any opportunity where I can interact with people that I don't normally encounter in my engineering classes. Don't get me wrong, I love my engineering family, but it's nice to have friends outside of my major who have fresh perspectives. I definitely enjoyed working out and hanging with my CHAARG small groups over the years. (CHAARG — Changing Health, Attitudes + Actions to Recreate Girls — is an all-women’s health and fitness organization.) We always had a lot of fun together and I’ve met some pretty inspiring ladies through CHAARG... Speaking of inspiring ladies, I also love running into Zippy and giving her high fives, does that count as a campus activity?

Q: Biggest surprise about college life?

A: I thought college would be more like what you see on TV and in the movies, with professors that don't care about their students and classmates that are super competitive. I never felt either of those things at UA. My experience with the faculty here has been very positive and I know I’m not just a number to them. I also never felt like my classmates were judging me or trying to push me down so they could get ahead. There were a lot of people here that were rooting for me to succeed. UA has a very supportive atmosphere and I don't think that's something that you would associate with college until you experience it.

Q: How have you changed during your years at UA?

A: I have a lot more self-confidence than when I started here. College puts you in a lot of “uncomfortable” situations and how you deal with them teaches you a lot about yourself. These situations gave me many opportunities to be independent and make my own decisions. Working on things by yourself and doing a good job without the help of others does wonders for your self-confidence. I now know that I can handle what life throws at me after I graduate because of the ways that UA has challenged me.

Alexandria's remarks to graduates

Q: If you had an internship or co-op, what did you get out of it?

A: Co-op was one of the most valuable learning experiences of my college career. I was able to pick up a lot of new technical skills and it was really cool to see what life will look like after graduation, in the professional world. I expected these things when I signed up to co-op, but I did not expect all of the mentoring that I received from my colleagues. I had one supervisor that really stood out from the others. He was very knowledgeable and was always learning new things, even if they didn't exactly follow his job description. He taught me a lot about leadership and being my own person. I didn't anticipate that sort of learning from a co-op rotation.

Q: What’s your advice to incoming freshmen?

A: If you want to try something, even a little bit, DO IT, and do it ASAP. You have nothing to lose (most of the time). For example, I always thought it would be cool to know how to play piano, but I never really made a solid effort to learn. In my senior year at UA, I decided to take piano lessons through the School of Music and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner because I love it! Do the things you always wanted to do, even if you think, “That isn’t for me.” You’re the person that decides what is and isn’t for you.