My UTEP
Engineering
Story
Rosanna Cabrera
Fall 2012
Where did it start?
•  My father was in the army.
•  Always wanted a son.
–  He had 4 girls. (Sorry dad, I love you!)
–  I am the youngest of the 4 girls
•  He always wanted to be an engineer and I just
so happened to be good at math and science,
and … that’s about it.
How did UTEP play into
Engineering?
•  I always knew I had to be an engineer but I
didn’t know what kind.
•  It all started with Fields and Waves.
•  It was probably the hardest class I ever took but
it was the most beautiful.
•  I knew then that I wanted to pursue Electrical
Engineering because of this one class.
•  Plus, I wasn’t mechanically inclined and civil
engineering bored me.
What was it like?
•  HARD!
•  But through the hard classes and professors,
there was passion and pride.
•  I knew that I could do it, even if I was one of
two girls in a room filled with boys.
Who made a difference?
Dr. Joseph Pierluissi Toughest Puerto Rican I know! (and I’m half Puerto Rican) But he made sure you knew your circuits! Dr. Stella Quinones UNITS! UNITS! UNITS! She always had passion for her lectures and she would draw her students in brilliantly. Dr. Homer Nazeran No one made you pull more all-­‐nighters than this man!! But it was well worth the stress. Most memorable class in
core curriculum?
•  Senior Project!
•  The one chance you get to show that you
learned and that you had what it took to be an
engineer.
•  It was exciting to know that from a thought you
could create an actual working system that
could benefit the world.
Funniest Moments
•  Noticing that nothing else mattered outside of
the classroom or engineering building.
–  Maybe just food.
•  Noticing that Engineers are the only ones that
LIVE on campus
–  Leave campus the following morning after a long day
of …everything.
•  Accidently blowing up capacitors (always
check your polarity!)
What would I change?
•  Better technology!
•  Have you seen the equipment in the labs?
•  Stop building offices and provide us with better
oscilloscopes!
•  ETHICS!
•  Stop passing students to get to a Tier 1 level.
•  Most of the students you “Pity Pass” are
embarrassing!
Where am I now?
•  Completed Bachelor of Science in Electrical
Engineering Fall 2010.
•  I have a secure job with White Sands Missile
Range.
•  I will complete my Master of Science in Systems
Engineering Fall 2012.
Where am I going?
•  I will move up in the ranks and make White
Sands Missile Range better, not only for our
customers but for our personnel.
•  I am going to have my American Dream.
–  Looking at getting married
–  Building our first family home
–  Traveling the world
–  Starting a family
Most memorable phrase?
“I believe in you.”