Join us for an online evening of true, personal stories from Boise State! On May 1, we’ll present a special lineup of stories from engineering students at Boise State University. Reserve your free spot and watch here or on the page below!
Stories by:
Mitch Evans grew up in Boise, Idaho where he gained a deep appreciation for the state’s natural resources and offerings. He spent much of his youth outdoors with his family and was always encouraged to squeeze as much out of life as he could. At age 21, he joined the United States Air Force where served for 8 years. Now, Mitch is studying Mechanical Engineering at Boise State University and expects to graduate Spring 2021. When he isn’t busy studying, Mitch enjoys mountain biking, hunting, cooking, and spending time with his wife Marissa and their two dogs Samson and Sullivan.
My full name is Elizabeth Gaffney, but most people know me as Liz. I graduated high school, from Mead Senior High school in Spokane, WA, in 2017 then that fall I started going to Boise State University. At BSU, I study mechanical engineering and Spanish. As well as the two degrees, I am on the track team at Boise State where I throw javelin. I have been throwing javelin since ninth grade. I have a current standing as a red shirt junior (because of the coronavirus) in athletics at university.
My name is Blessing Makwera. I was born in Zimbabwe and I have always been interested and curious as to how everything works and why it worked. My parents thought I was going to grow out of the curious phase of my life like all my siblings, but the curious phase has been going on for 27 years and appears to be a life long phase. My curiosity has often led me to try everything I can try because I believe you only get one life and it is a very short experience in which I would rather do everything I can to give life its best meaning. My curiosity has also gotten me in tough situations like the life changing accident in 2007. I spend most of my time outdoors because I believe as the human species we are part of nature and the more we understand how nature works to ensure perpetuation or extinction of one species or the other, the more we can find a way to keep our species roaming planet earth or the universe for as long as possible. I believe there is so much to learn and do in life. I want to learn and do as much as I can, that is why I want to be a mechanical engineer and a world traveler.
Kay Oak is a Mechanical Engineering student at Boise State University and perhaps more importantly, an avid fan of guinea pigs. She divides her daytime between studying mechanics and leading her fellow learning/teaching assistants in being effective coaches. Before that, she launched and managed a math tutoring center at her high school. Kay’s greatest career goal is to help other people to be their kindest, happiest, most productive selves. Once her guinea pigs have a clean cage, she’s likely working on a new painting (Instagram: @knockout.paint) …or binge-watching Star Trek.
Sierra Sandison is a junior studying Mechanical Engineering. Sierra is on the VAR Scent engineering team, working to create a device that integrates with an Oculus and disperses scent during the virtual reality experience. She is a member of Phi Sigma Rho, the engineering sorority. In February, her team took home 1st place from the Invent for the Planet competition hosted by the Venture College and the College of Engineering. Most recently, she was recognized by the Idaho Society of Engineers as the #1 Mechanical Engineering junior at Boise State.