Elizabeth Weichel, a senior in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, is involved in many programs and opportunities that have allowed her to gain a wide variety of experiences. From peer mentorship to a semester abroad and two internships with Texas Instruments (TI) and other activities in between, she welcomes opportunities that can open new and exciting doors for her future.
Weichel has been involved in the Texas A&M Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (TAMU IEEE) chapter since she was a freshman, and this year she is serving as president of the organization. Through TAMU IEEE, Weichel has had the opportunity to help facilitate hackathons and interface with companies for the organization’s career fair, which was relaunched this fall after being on hold due to the pandemic. This fall, the TAMU IEEE career fair hosted 10 companies, and over 100 students participated. The officer team hopes to hold another event in the spring.
"I'm so thankful to have been involved with IEEE throughout my four years here at A&M,” Weichel said. “I've met friends and gained valuable leadership experience. I'm looking forward to this next year with IEEE as we continue to grow the club and interact with companies."
Last fall, Weichel participated in a semester exchange program at Denmark Technical University, during which she was able to take coursework in a completely different academic environment, meet new friends and even travel to six other countries in Europe during her stay. She said that this experience was one of the most impactful of her academic career.
During her two internships with TI, she served as an applications engineering intern on the low-power audio team. There, she worked part time in the lab and part time completing other duties such as creating two videos for TI’s website and assisting with the creation of an application note that allows companies to find answers to common questions regarding chip inventory. In the lab, she contributed to an evaluation model for the company, which is given to customers in order to perform testing on a chip.
I love circuits. They're like little puzzles. It's all logical deductions, which I really enjoy.
Through these experiences, Weichel has solidified her passion for electrical engineering.
“I love circuits,” she said. “They're like little puzzles. It's all logical deductions, which I really enjoy.”
Weichel has not solidified her plans upon graduation, though she has taken steps to keep various doors open, including taking the Law School Admission Test in preparation for a possible future in technology and intellectual property law.
She is a member of the Engineering Honors program and is an electrical and computer engineering student ambassador. As a student ambassador, she meets with prospective students or freshmen looking to learn more about electrical or computer engineering and help provide a peer’s perspective on what the coursework and potential career paths could look like. In this role, she also provides peer advising during registration times for current electrical and computer engineering students. Student ambassadors epitomize the core value of selfless service by interacting with faculty and mentoring their peers, serving as an embodiment of the Aggie spirit.