Marriotts Ridge High School
Ellicott City, MD
Mechanical Engineering

A major in engineering and passion for education don't mix — at least, that's what I thought upon entering UofSC. I allowed my major to define my activities, thinking that all an engineer could do was engineering. This left me wildly unhappy and unfulfilled. After an internship in space education, working with NASA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, I discovered how to combine my interests with UofSC's College of Education and Department of Psychology. Drs. January and Miller have supported my interests in positive educational environments and STEM education despite my nontraditional background. Encouragement like this is a major reason I chose UofSC in the first place and why I will continue to be active in STEM education after graduation. 

Future plans: Leah will move to Arlington, Virginia, to work as a program manager at the new headquarters of Amazon Web Services.