Like many students, I found myself challenged academically during my first year of college. While I was a freshman, I was unaware of the numerous benefits ASME offered to its members. Had I known that my free freshman membership included benefits like Engineering Access, ASME scholarships, and career development webinars, the pressures of my freshman year would have been greatly reduced.
Access Engineering would have been an essential tool for schoolwork, where I could have used the homework help, reference tables, and interactive tools on almost every assignment and project. For example, having access to sample problems and solutions could have shown me the steps to solving homework problems rather than having to search YouTube for a video. Instead of trying to find the tables I needed on Google Images, I could have found them in seconds on Engineering Access. Engineering Access also provides resources for upperclassmen. When I get into more advanced classes, I can use the DataVis tool to plot and graph data. After speaking to a few upperclassmen, I know the graphing tools within Access Engineering will be valuable in future classes.
Many students will find Access Engineering useful to make their academic careers easier, but what about the financial burden of going to college? This is where ASME scholarships come in. When I was a senior in high school, I remember applying for dozens of scholarships. In the end, I only received a few. Now that I have access to scholarships through ASME, I have a chance at receiving more awards. Everyone knows the value of scholarships, so any college student would jump at the chance to apply for more of them. Members can receive awards of $3,000 or $6,000 from a total of over $360,000 that ASME reserves for scholarships.
Lastly, the career development webinars teach a variety of topics and provide important information about everything from resume tips to negotiating salaries. Webinars are great for me because I can access them whenever I have time between classes and work. Having videos about a wide variety of topics makes the webinar system even better because, as a young student without much work experience, I need every advantage I can get. Learning how to improve my resume, ace the interview, and make sure I'm getting a salary I deserve are all beneficial to me and many students like me.
Entering my freshman year, I didn’t even know ASME had a membership program. As part of the executive internship program, I now understand the array of benefits that apply to me as a student. Access Engineering, ASME scholarships, and the webinar series would have been essential tools as a freshman and will be indispensable resources for the remainder of my academic career.
Noah Ensslin is a biomedical engineering student at Stevens Institute of Technology.
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