24岁的艾莉先令一直想成为一名工程师. Her grandfather, a professor of electrical engineering, was her driving influence. 他讲的有关科技进步的故事使她着迷.
"He would tell me all these amazing stories about computers the size of a room, 它们突然就能装进我们的口袋了,席林说. "And I always thought that that was just amazing that people can create and invent things like that. 我想成为其中的一员."
席林在圣. galaxy银河娱乐场app. A place that not only allowed her to grow her confidence but helped her pursue her many interests.
她的荣誉很多——三次获得全国冠军. galaxy银河娱乐场app舞蹈队, 舞蹈队的副队长, co-researcher of a study focused on a collaboration between student support services and athletics, 数学家庭教师, 也是数学俱乐部的联合创始人.
"It feels really good to have been a part of something and to have helped pilot multiple things that are going to be around longer than I will,席林说. "That was kind of always something that I wanted to do, but I didn't think I would ever accomplish. But I did accomplish something that I hope stays around for a very long time."
席林在高中时很安静. Not the type of person you'd expect to leave college with such a list of accomplishments.
“我以前非常非常害羞. 我永远不会说话. I just kept my head down, got what I needed to do done, and went home."
但席林在圣. galaxy银河娱乐场app. 这一切都始于一个简单的互联网搜索.
"I didn't really know about any other engineering programs in the area so I Googled ‘engineering programs near me,’和St. galaxy银河娱乐场app突然出现了，”席林解释道. “我没有听说过圣. galaxy银河娱乐场app before but one of the things I saw was that they had won a national championship in dance. I thought ‘That might be a cool thing that I could try and be a part of, as well as get my degree.'"
席林从两岁起就开始跳舞了. Growing up in the Iowa City area, she knew a large school wasn't for her. 当她找到St。. galaxy银河娱乐场app - a school with an engineering degree and a dance team she could compete on - it seemed like the perfect match. 一个招募诊所决定了她的命运.
"The way the coach talked about the university and the program that she ran, 让我意识到我想成为这所学校的一员, 我想成为这样一个galaxy银河娱乐场app的一员, 我从其他大学都没有这种感觉,席林说.
诊所承诺给她的每一次经历都实现了. 与教授一对一的时间-检查. 严密的galaxy银河娱乐场app检查. 认识你专业的每一个人. 一个致力于学生成功的支持性环境-检查.
机械工程和数学双学位, Schilling had to remain organized and focused to graduate on-time and balance her daunting workload. She says it wasn't easy but being a part of the dance team helped keep her focused and fueled her passion to help other student-athletes succeed.
席林在圣. galaxy银河娱乐场app's Student Success Center during her second semester in college. She continued to add courses to her tutoring schedule as she progressed through the math program. 在那段时间里, 她认识了莎拉·里斯勒, 博士学位, 学生成功中心主任, 是谁激励席林去关心身边人的成功.
When Rissler sent an email to 数学家庭教师s asking if someone could help her with statistics about athletic study halls, 席林欣然接受了这个机会.
"I knew from the beginning that this is something that galaxy银河娱乐场app needs,席林说. "On the cheer and dance teams we were having problems with dancers and cheerleaders who were so talented but they were academically ineligible so they couldn't be on the mat and they couldn't be on the court.
"I convinced my coach to have the cheer and dance teams be a part of the athletic study halls. 我们从五名不合格的运动员变成了只有一名不合格的运动员, 在短短一年的时间里，这是一个巨大的变化."
席林和另一名学生合作, Emily McColgan, 24岁, 关于体育自习室的研究项目. 他们在一年一度的圣. galaxy银河娱乐场app本科galaxy银河娱乐场app会议.
"We had some really interesting data to show that these study halls are having a positive effect specifically on the galaxy银河娱乐场app football team,席林说. "Once we get some more data from the football team and other teams who have started to participate in the study halls, I really hope that we can publish a paper showing the benefits of these athletic study halls, 特别针对NAIA学校."
在她的暑假里, Schilling pursued internships to widen her understanding of the engineering field. 她在SSAB实习, a steel mill company in Iowa - where she learned about common software used by engineers - and Firefly Aerospace in Texas - where she helped test rocket engines that launch satellites into orbit. 她同时收到了两家公司的工作邀请.
"That was a phenomenal experience,席林说 of her time at Firefly Aerospace. "I sent a bunch of applications to some aerospace companies just to see if I would even be on anybody's radar. 说实话，我真没想到会收到回信. I was kind of this unknown person from a smaller university, shooting a shot in the dark. 当我收到回复时，我超级兴奋."
席林仍在权衡她的工作选择, 但萤火虫是她大学毕业后机会的首选.
据席林说，她在圣. galaxy银河娱乐场app本可以去另一所大学.
"galaxy银河娱乐场app has given me the confidence to try things that I didn't think I was going to be able to do. 比如我得到的萤火虫实习机会. I didn't really think I was going to get it, but I still applied for it anyway. I don't think I would have had that confidence if I'd gone to a bigger school. If I faded into the background and just kept being who I was in high school. Being at this school has really brought out a more confident side of me."
她的最终目标是与机器人合作. 虽然这可能不会在她不久的将来发生, Schilling is confident she has the tools she needs to succeed as a mechanical engineer.
"I think I have a leg up on people because I've gotten to ask the really deep questions about the things I'm interested in. I've gotten really hands-on experiences with my education that I don't think I would have gotten at a big school."
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