Kaylyn Gibilterra
	Computer Science
	Psychology, Engineering Leadership Development
	Class of 2012

Hometown: Hershey, Pennsylvania

High School: Hershey High School

Extracurricular Activities: Engineering Ambassadors, Penn State Dance Marathon (THON)

Internship/Co-op Experience: Harris RF Communications, HeatFusion, API Technologies

Why did you choose to come to Penn State? Throughout my entire senior year I had been pretty set on going to the University of Pittsburgh. In mid-April I came up to visit Penn State with a friend on a whim and we took a tour of the school and got to see the environment and I knew this was the place for me! The environment here is electric and unlike anything you will find at another school. The entire town (and city on game days!) is full of Penn State Pride and everyone really wants you to succeed. The excellence of the engineering program as well as the team spirit that you will feel throughout your time as a student is what pulled me in.

What has been your best memory as an engineering student? Probably being an Engineering Ambassador. EA teaches you to really think outside the box and explore where you can really take your engineering degree. You don't have to spend all of your time at a desk if you don't want to! The 21st century is really an explosive time for technology for engineers and EA really focuses on how to launch into this time fully prepared for any situation. It is Penn State's focus on preparing you for more than just equations that has really impressed and excited me the most throughout the years.

What advice would you give a first-year engineer? Get involved! There is nothing more satisfying than meeting a lot of new people and having a lot of fun while working on new projects or in various organizations. But at the same time, make sure to not overwhelm yourself with too much to do. Your first year will be a LOT different than high school and it certainly takes time to adjust!

What do you plan to do after graduation? That is still up in the air so far! I have worked for a lot of defensive contractors and recently started branching out into web development. I love both sides of Computer Science for different reasons, so I'll have to explore what I think I'll most enjoy for the future. My biggest plan is to find the company that inspires the most passion for me in my work - whatever aspect of engineering that may be!

What has been your best experience outside of engineering at Penn State? Penn State's Dance Marathon has absolutely been the coolest thing I have done at school. You get to meet a lot of people outside of the college of engineering and really see how working as a community can accomplish something so awesome! My other best experience would be that I was the Technology Director for Penn State's Homecoming last year. That experience really helped me grow both personally and professionally as I had to work on high-stress projects over the course of 11 months and really work to build up the biggest Penn State celebration of the year!