Erica Stewart is a very involved student-athlete. Alongside her demanding curriculum as an electrical engineering major, she has served in three engineering student organizations and kept on top of her responsibilities as a Ragin小蝌蚪APP Cajun.
小蝌蚪APP淚 really enjoyed being on the track and field team. It helped me be disciplined and really keep my head on straight while I was in the engineering program,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淚 don't think people realize how disciplined you have to be as an athlete because you don't get much time to really just relax.
小蝌蚪APP淚t really helps you plan out what you have to do to be more disciplined in your schedule,小蝌蚪APP she said.
Finding a Home at UL Lafayette
When Erica was a senior in high school, she was recruited for her skills in track and field. In the midst of recruitment, she tore her ACL and some of her offers were retracted. She says that her injury was 小蝌蚪APP渁 blessing in disguise because UL Lafayette was the place that I was actually supposed to be."
小蝌蚪APP淥ne thing I will always be grateful for is UL Lafayette taking that chance on me and having faith in what I previously have done,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淎nd knowing that I could produce after my injury.小蝌蚪APP
The Louisiana Ragin小蝌蚪APP Cajuns sprint coach reached out and invited Erica to see the campus.
小蝌蚪APP淚 did a bunch of visits my senior year of high school and once I got here, I didn't have any doubts about it,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淎fter visiting the campus, it felt like home for me.小蝌蚪APP
Erica小蝌蚪APP檚 Focus in Class & Student Organizations
One of the features available to student-athletes like Erica is the on campus.
小蝌蚪APP淚t really helps having that place where I can just focus while having peace and quiet and just basically lock myself down to get whatever information I need to get while I'm at the library,小蝌蚪APP she said.
Erica used these amenities to keep herself focused for classes like EECE 340: Microprocessors, where she built her Secret Door Knock project using an Arduino microcontroller.
小蝌蚪APP淪o, if you knock a certain pattern on the door, the door will sense it and unlock for you,小蝌蚪APP she explained. 小蝌蚪APP淚t's kind of like having a passcode on the door but on this door, we use a knock. I would say that was my favorite project that I did all four years.小蝌蚪APP
Apart from her academic and athletic responsibilities, Erica was a member of the , the , and she was an Engineering Ambassador. Her goal with these organizations was to recruit a diverse engineering student body.
小蝌蚪APP淭he National Society of Black Engineers focuses on graduating more African Americans in engineering. And I don't know if you've ever been to an engineering graduation, but the women are very scarce,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淪o, I try to get more women on board.小蝌蚪APP
Past, Present & Future With Engineering
When she was in high school, Erica originally thought she wanted to be a surgeon because of her favorite show, 小蝌蚪APP淕rey小蝌蚪APP檚 Anatomy.小蝌蚪APP Her high school offered curriculum tracks based on career paths, which is how she discovered that it wasn小蝌蚪APP檛 actually what she wanted to do.
小蝌蚪APP淭hank God for that high school program,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淪o, once I figured out that's what I didn't want to do, I really started to search within myself for what I was really interested in.小蝌蚪APP
Erica小蝌蚪APP檚 childhood hobbies helped her decide to major in electrical engineering.
小蝌蚪APP淟ooking back on being a kid, I always was interested in electronics and I would take apart gaming devices and phones. I was trying to take things apart and reassemble them,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淛ust looking back on my childhood and things that I was really interested in and passionate about, that led me to electrical engineering.
小蝌蚪APP淪o, I decided to go ahead and pursue a degree in it, and I am still passionate about it to this day.小蝌蚪APP
Erica is now on track to be an electrical engineer for Chevron back home in Houston. She has planted roots at UL Lafayette, though, so, she is considering options for grad school here once she has worked for a few years.
小蝌蚪APP淚 wanted to stay in Louisiana, specifically the Lafayette area because I really love it,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淚 didn't want to go too far, so I can come back on weekends whenever I want.小蝌蚪APP
