Each semester, President Mueller and some of the Engineering faculty meet with an advisory board to discuss the goals, progress and direction of the engineering program and other STEM programs and initiatives. The advisory board consists of individuals who are generally in management for companies such as Honeywell, Intel, etc. They provide insight into what is trending in the industry and offer advice to GCU faculty about current world topics.

Junior mechanical engineering students, Rachael Wecker, and Joel Conrad were invited by an engineering faculty member, Haley Fagerlie, to speak to the board. They were asked to highlight their internship experiences and discuss what they have learned from their internships and how it’s tied into what they have been learning at GCU. They were also asked what they enjoy in the engineering program, as well as what could be improved.

Rachael said at the meeting that she “learned that GCU wants to know how their students are being impacted, what they are doing right and what they can improve upon. They really care about their students and their education”.

Joel expressed that he is “always pleased to have the opportunity to speak in a ‘high profile’ setting because it gives the opportunity to practice speaking to a crowd that I do not commonly have access to.”

About a week after they presented at the STEM Advisory Board meeting, President Mueller reached out to the Dean of CSET and requested that the two of them repeat their presentation at the Traditional Operations Leadership meeting. This meeting consisted of all of the leaders and supervisors of several departments on campus, including the deans and associate deans for all of the colleges, marketing, and student service advisors.

During this presentation, President Mueller personally interviewed Rachael and Joel. He asked them why they chose to attend GCU, how their experiences at the school have been and how they viewed the importance of going to a Christian university.

Rachael enjoyed “not just speaking to the STEM individuals, but the rest of the management team at GCU including business staff and career services. Some of the Honors College staff were there too.”

From this experience Joel was encouraged by President Mueller, who said that he and Rachel had presented themselves and their thoughts in an authentic way.

This opportunity gave two of GCU’s very own mechanical engineering students a platform to express their likes and dislikes of GCU and the newly formed engineering program, as well as their internship experiences.

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