Author: villegas.39

Year in Review

Throughout my second year at Ohio State I believe I become comfortable with who I am. Transitioning into college during COVID was not the easiest change. I thrived academically but it constantly felt like there were pieces of myself that were missing. Approaching the end of my second year I feel confident in my academic, social and professional path I am currently on.

This year I have lived with those I now call my close friends. I have gotten more involved outside of school. Through AICHE, I have become a STEM Ambassador allowing the opportunity to sprinkle my passion for science onto Columbus youth. This has been a great experience to build leadership and relationship skills with those I work with. Another change to this year was completing my Year of Service for the Mount Scholars program, volunteering 75+ hours at INPREM, Matthew 25, and various other agencies. I am excited for the coming years of gaining more technical experience in my degree path, but without the experiences I have had over the last year I would not be where I am today.

G.O.A.L.S.

As an Undergraduate student there is only so much that can be learned inside the classroom. Being an Engineering student, I understand the importance of gaining internship/co-op experiences while in school. The standard curriculum for Chemical Engineering may be completed within 4 years, however I am choosing to complete in 5. The reason for this is to allow myself the time to gain the experience I not only need, but want before I graduate. I am currently seeking internships opportunities for the summer, but in the future will seek fall/spring rotations to build my professional and technical background. I believe by doing this I will be a stronger candidate for the industry than if I did not choose to follow this path. My goal is to graduate with a strong professional foundation and feel confident applying towards the jobs that I want.

 

Another goal of mine is to get more involved with AICHE, or the American Institute if Chemical Engineers here on campus. I recently have become a Stem ambassador for this organization and it has been a great experience thus far. I believe this organization will provide great resources to build my social and professional elements. I also strongly believe in becoming more educated on modern diversity and inclusion practices through a professional lens. Through this organization and others I have learned more about who we are and how we all work together.

 

The last goal I have for myself is to stay involved in the community in which I live. I have gotten to serve the Columbus community via IMPREM during my year of service. I feel that being a future worker in the industry it is important to have a strong connection with those you will impact. Although I may not be working in food security related fields, I want to make a greater impact for the people.

 

Career

In my career I want to work in the industry in a hands on field. Majoring in Chemical Engineering I see myself becoming a project supervisor, working alongside other engineers. Long term I could see myself going into management of an engineering firm. To be a successful engineer you need to be a great leader. I believe that my experiences have developed a lot of my skills, and I hope that by the time I graduate I will have strengthened them.

In high school I worked several jobs. A common theme in them was teamwork and communication. When I worked at The Home Depot as a sales associate, I worked hands on in product placement and customer service. This job was very project focused which strengthened my organization and time management skills. Being a sales associate I also had to grow in my interpersonal skills in customer relations. I learned to be knowledgeable about the products we were selling and be able to connect with the customer to make successful sales. I liked this job because it gave me lots of responsibility but I managed it with those I worked with.

As a STEM Ambassador for AICHE I have learned to acknowledge my audience. Presenting to 7th graders has been a challenge however it has made me quicker to adapt to ensure information is being presented clear and efficiently. As an engineer communication is crucial and you have to be able to effectively deliver information. Working at INPREM food bank during my year of service has been a great way to show my leadership, being able to help assist in current projects at the site. Whether the drive-thru service or internal inventory I was able to step up when needed and could listen then communicate to others the needs of the agency.

 

 

Artifacts

Growing up I was immersed into the Christian community with my family. As you grow older, your faith becomes your choice, it is no longer a family commitment. When I got to that age, I made the decision to follow the path I started on. A huge component of everything I have learned from my faith revolves around service. My church has a strong youth ministry which I was actively involved in over years. A large part of these youth programs was the opportunity to serve on mission trips both domestic and international. Each of these experiences exposes those who took part in many different ways. Some of these trips were focused on poverty, domestic abuse, and natural disasters.

The most impactful trip I served on was to a small river town called Clendenin, WV. The small town was ravaged by a flood a few years back and the residents lost everything. As a mission team, we do more than come to a town for a week and then leave. Getting involved with the local businesses in an effort to rebuild their town was very meaningful. The part that humbled me the most was their ability to come together as a community and celebrate the people amidst the destruction. I began to realize that those who need our help aren’t far from our own backyards, you don’t have to travel far to help those who are in need.

Involvement with my church meant more than just being being able to serve my community. Relationships with those around me grew strong and strengths of leadership developed as we all came together and worked toward a common goal. These experiences have shaped the way I intend to use my career to benefit the greater good. I hope to be able to contribute to different organizations both during my time at Ohio State and beyond.

 

 

 

The artifact that I selected is my senior capstone project from Loveland Biotech. Throughout my junior and senior year in high school I was enrolled in a Biotechnology dual-enrollment (CCP) course through Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. The class was designed to utilize individuals from our high school with a diverse background in math and science and to apply it to more complex topics as a team. The purpose of this capstone to create and design a research project based off previous knowledge learned in Biotech as well as other sciences. I worked in a team of 3 people over the course of over a year.Link to PowerPoint Presentation

I am extremely proud of the work we conducted. The process of developing an experimental design on a topic we weren’t well versed in was not a light task. This capstone project taught me strong skills for working as a team, thinking outside the box, and applying knowledge to new ideas. It also taught me patience. Over course of several months we conducted research to better understand what we were searching for, and road blocks would come along the way setting us back or causing more discussion. During the experimental part of this project the lab wouldn’t always run perfectly, as a team we would have to take a step back to reflect and evaluate our current approach. Ultimately through a persistent but repetitive process we were able to complete this project and walk away with both scientific knowledge and practical skills life collaboration, communication, and resourcefulness. After going through the process of the project there is a lot I can reflect on to apply to future projects in my career. I learned that not everything will be perfect. There are always going to be setbacks along the way and you can’t get discouraged from that. Rather, use what you know and reflect in order ton grow from the experience whether it was a positive or negative experience. I look forward to gaining more experiences like this project in my academic and professional career that will challenge myself in many ways.

 

 

During my first year as an engineering student I worked on a team in my FE class to research and develop an innovative product for a new or existing market. This project helped me grow some fundamental skills of leadership while being a fair and equal team. Throughout the semester we researched the market for our product. We identified a problem and a target user, defined user needs, and created design restraints. With this information we were able to develop initial prototypes and then test them against our defined constraints. I learned that the process of product development can be long and tedious, but as a team we work through issues in order to create the best product for our target users. Below is an image of our final working prototype that successfully organized wire clutter. Although this may not be something a high end company would sell (in this state), it showed me the potential for what I can do when I am older. This project taught me the skills to continuously evaluate your solution.

 

About Me

Hello, my name is David Villegas and I am a first year student from The Ohio State University as a Chemical Engineering Major in the College of Engineering pursuing a business minor. I am from Loveland, OH and I graduated from Loveland High School. I was actively involved in and outside of school as a member/leader of my local church youth group, Science Olympiad, ski club, and various sports teams. Leadership and service were strong qualities I exhibited in high school serving at local mission organizations in Cincinnati, OH like Matthew 25 and Free Store Food Bank as well as on five mission trips. I am a continuous learner that will be open to new ideas in order to gain a broader perspective.

As for my journey at Ohio State, I am part of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars program. I am also getting involved with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. I hope to be able to join a Christian Organization to pursue further service and fellowship. Moving into my future years I am interested in pursuing internships and co-ops in the Engineering field to gain valuable experience and make an impact towards a companies mission. I look forward to the experiences to come in my future.