Selin Sirinterlikci Age: 19
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
UNDER THIRTY A
t 19 years old, Selin Sirinterlikci has already mastered time management, which was necessary in order to achieve all of her academic successes, not to mention her
sports accomplishments.
“I get involved in everything I am interested in,” Selin explained. “My parents encouraged me to pursue what- ever I was interested in, to try it out.”
Selin said her leanings toward math, science and engineering were evident from a very young age. But it was a chance encounter with an astronaut, the late Rick Husband, as a child that really sparked her interest in engineering. “I gained as much exposure to the field as possible,” Selin said. “I learned AutoCAD design software and the proper operation of a 3D printer to compete in the Toy Challenge Nationals in my middle school years, an event that I found highly worthwhile and educational about product design and manufacturing.” She participated in the toy challenge in both fifth and sixth grade. “Being able to do that at a young age exposed me to the field and made me more interested,” she said.
Her father, an engineer, also was encouraging. “I spent a good amount of time in his lab as a kid, so I was able to see things firsthand,” she said. “I was able to talk to him about it.” Later, at Moon Area High School, Selin spent much of her time on the honor roll, participating in academic competitions, including the robotics club, as well as competing on the school’s bowling, cross country and track and field teams. She also volunteered in several ways, such as tutoring other students in math. “Selin is truly an outstanding young woman. She excels in the classroom, as a leader in our school and
“I definitely enjoy the hands-on. Physically
developing the products.”
in our community,” wrote Judith W. Shuster, Moon Area High School Gifted Coordinator. Physics teacher Shawn T. Welsh added that Selin is an outstanding leader, “being the vice president of the Robotics Club, President of the speech and debate team, Captain of her Euro Challenge team and secretary of her graduating class. She is also active in the Science and Environmental Club, Key Club and Electronics Club …” Today, Selin is a freshman at Carnegie Mellon Uni- versity in Pittsburgh, studying electrical and computer engineering, and competing on the varsity track team. She’s also con- templating minoring in robotics. “The robotics program at CMU is fantastic,” she explained.
She’s very excited about several computer program- ming courses she’s taken, which have educated her in Python and C Programming Language. While Selin said it’s difficult to determine where her academic career might take her—she’s interested in so many topics—her Toy Challenge experience has left its imprint. “I definitely enjoy the hands-on,” she said. “Physically developing the products—I find that to be very rewarding. You can’t have strong products without a strong development and revision process.”
She has some advice for others interested in pur- suing a path in science, technology, engineering and math: “Perseverance and dedication are very impor- tant,” she said. “”I think persistence is one of the more important qualities someone can have.” She also thinks that people may not realize how much teamwork goes into STEM career fields. “I would say that working with my robotics team was one of the most rewarding experiences.” ME
July 2014 |
ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com 101
THIRTY UNDER THIRTY PROFILES
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