Alison Riley
	Bioengineering
	Class of 2014

Hometown: Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

High School: Unionville High School

Extracurricular Activities: Lion Scouts, tutoring

Why did you choose to come to Penn State? I attended the SWE (Society of Women Engineers) Stayover weekend in the spring of my senior year of high school, and immediately fell in love with Penn State. I could really see myself living here for four years and absolutely loving it, and I knew the engineering program was top-notch. I sent in my acceptance of admission the day that I got back from the SWE weekend!

What has been your best memory as an engineering student? Attending the Design Showcase at the Bryce Jordan Center with my E-Design group freshman year. We all worked really well together, and put a lot of time into building our own model hydrogen city in Honolulu - "Hydrolulu." I had a lot of fun at the showcase, and it was a great way to wrap up my freshman year.

What advice would you give a first-year engineer? I would tell a first-year engineer to get involved with as many activities as they possibly can their first year. Freshman year, I only met and talked to people who lived on my floor, which I regretted the next year when I realized I was missing out on meeting people in clubs and activities. I think that with everything Penn State offers, it is a shame not to take advantage of as much of it as you can. College is about stretching yourself and finding out who you are as a person - and I think you can only do this by seizing every good opportunity that you come upon.

What do you plan to do after graduation? After graduation, I hope to attend medical school and to specialize in endocrinology. However, I want to take a year off in between to travel, get some work experience, and live a little before settling back in to so many more years of school.

What has been your best experience outside of engineering at Penn State? Living in the Engineering and Applied Science Interest (EASI) Special Living Option my freshman and sophomore years. I met so many great people there who I will be friends with for a long time, and EASI house opened up many opportunities for me that I would not have had not living in that SLO. Living there really shaped the first two years of my college experience, and I would not have rather lived anywhere else.