Choose to Challenge

Q: Can you tell me about your journey as an engineer, and people who have been mentors? A: I was around engineering things as a child, but I didn't label it as engineering. I love math and science, but I also loved everything else—poetry, reading. The turning point was I...

As a sophomore in high school, Julie Steinbrenner really had never heard of engineering before.

I was able to speak with our very own Malinda Zarske with the Engineering Plus Program. In the classroom, she is the type of professor that does more than teaching you what the book states. She is a professor that loves to get to know her students. Yet the path for Zarske was not always leading to engineering.

Wendy Young is a senior instructor and associate chair in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. In high school, she knew she wanted to become an engineer because she always enjoyed math and science courses. She also loved problem-solving, which is why she took the engineering path versus the scientist path.

Stephanie Bryant is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and has been a part of this university since 2005. She currently serves as the associate director of the Materials Science and Engineering Program and has recently been elected to be the director starting in July.

Amy Javernick-Will’s journey to becoming an extraordinary, well-rounded researcher in civil engineering started with her combined interest in math, science, and international business throughout her early education.

Angela Thieman Dino is a senior instructor in the Engineering Leadership Program. She pulls from her experience and background as an anthropologist and integrates the lessons she has learned into her teaching, specifically focusing on the connection between technology and culture. Thieman Dino on Torreys Peak Highlights Earned PhD in...

Kayla Sprenger became an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2020. She obtained her PhD at the University of Washington and completed her postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.