Heather Pieszala
	Mechanical Engineering
	Sustainability, Spanish
	Class of 2015

Hometown: Larksville, Pennsylvania

High School: Wyoming Valley West High School

Extracurricular Activities: Phi Sigma Rho, Homecoming Street Team Committee, Engineering Orientation Network, Sailing Club, Alternative Spring Break, Engineering Ambassadors

Research Experience: Wind turbines in PA

Why did you choose to come to Penn State? I've wanted to attend Penn State ever since I was old enough to know the definition of college. However, when I was in high school I forgot that and labled it as the last place I would ever want to go. This was because being from Pennsylvania, I thought "everyone went there" and I wanted a school to call my own. I didn't realize that I could have that with Penn State until I visited the university in March of my senior year for the SWE Stayover. Staying for the weekend made me fall in love with the campus,the atmosphere, the people, the opportunities the school presented, and the extracurricular and social activities. It radiated with school spirit and offered an excellent engineering program. Right now, I can't see myself being anywhere other than Penn State and I am unbelievably happy that I made the decision to attend the university.

What has been your best memory as an engineering student? Some of my best memories are from the engineering sorority Phi Sigma Rho. The sorority consists of an amazing group of intellegent, fun, and inspiring women, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

What advice would you give a first-year engineer? To any first year engineering student: definitely find something you're passionate about and get involved with it. This will keep you both sane and happy. Also, find a good group of friends to study with; it helps tremendously. One, you won't be bored doing homework alone, so you'll be more motivated to study, and two, hard subjects become easier when working in groups because you can put your minds together to figure anything out.

What do you plan to do after graduation? After graduation I would love to work for a company that allows me to travel the world and implement various engineering projects in as many countries as possible. I am very interested in renewable energy and water conservation, so I would also like to begin and work with campaigns to support these issues.

What has been your best experience outside of engineering at Penn State? My best experience outside of engineering at Penn State has definitely been attending the program Leadershape. To descirbe it, it was a week of intense self reflection and encouraging discussion. I also met many motivated and inspiring people there. I believe everyone should do the program, simply because I wish I could do it a million more times and because it had such a profound impact on my life.