Meet mechanical engineering major Dae小蝌蚪APP橨a Harris

Written byQuinn Foster

小蝌蚪APP淢y favorite part of my program is probably the labs and math courses. Labs catch my attention more than lectures because they allow me to be hands-on and visually see what I小蝌蚪APP檓 expected to learn.小蝌蚪APP 

Dae'Ja Harris
Hometown
New Orleans, LA

Where I'm From

I am from New Orleans, Louisiana.

Where I Am

I am currently a math tutor.

Where I'm Going

I am looking to discover more internship opportunities to grow in my field.

Mastering math and science in mechanical engineering

Dae小蝌蚪APP橨a Harris made a plan and is carrying out her goals. She chose to attend the 小蝌蚪APP because of her liking for smaller campuses.  

小蝌蚪APP淲hile researching colleges, I was looking for a small in-state college. College Track introduced UL Lafayette so I decided to attend since it has small classrooms like I was looking for and it小蝌蚪APP檚 close enough to home where I can be on my own but not too far away.小蝌蚪APP 

Dae小蝌蚪APP橨a knew she wanted to study science and math and decided to major in mechanical engineering.  

小蝌蚪APP淚 took an Intro to Engineering course during my senior year of high school and decided that小蝌蚪APP檚 what I wanted to study. After researching the different disciplines, it seemed like mechanical was the broadest so that小蝌蚪APP檚 what I chose to study to give myself flexibility after graduating,小蝌蚪APP she said.  

For her minor, she chose math because of her love for numbers over words. 

小蝌蚪APP淎 math minor allows me to study engineering while taking interest in my favorite subject,小蝌蚪APP she said.  

Her favorite courses in her major are Math 270 taught by , Math 301 taught by , ENGR 201 taught by Professor Tessier, and Math 350 taught by . 

小蝌蚪APP淢y favorite part of my program is probably the labs and math courses. Labs catch my attention more than lectures because they allow me to be hands-on and visually see what I小蝌蚪APP檓 expected to learn. Math is my favorite subject so I小蝌蚪APP檓 always open to learning more about it.小蝌蚪APP

Her favorite class outside of her major was DANC 102.

小蝌蚪APP淚 took it during my freshman year with Marie Broussard. There weren小蝌蚪APP檛 many quizzes and 99% of the semester was used for learning ballet. It was a great class to get my body active in the morning,小蝌蚪APP she said. 

The positive impact of Black-led organizations on campus 

Dae小蝌蚪APP橨a is a member of UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 (BSU), and the (NSBE), and she also worked at the . She believes BSU and NSBE are vital organizations at the 小蝌蚪APP.  

小蝌蚪APP淭he Black Student Union is important at UL Lafayette because it小蝌蚪APP檚 special to have community in spaces where you小蝌蚪APP檙e the minority. There小蝌蚪APP檚 always someone nearby that may share your interests but it小蝌蚪APP檚 more encouraging witnessing people that look like you working to accomplish similar goals...小蝌蚪APP 

BSU小蝌蚪APP檚 mission is to, 小蝌蚪APP渟timulate the intellectual, political, cultural, and social growth of all students at UL Lafayette.小蝌蚪APP Dae小蝌蚪APP橨a小蝌蚪APP檚 favorite memories with BSU included the weeklong events during BLACKPRINT and the BSU study hall sessions. 

小蝌蚪APP淲hile being involved with the Black Student Union, I am also involved with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). I also attend their study halls because there小蝌蚪APP檚 a higher chance of receiving help with my homework and there are many opportunities to mingle with black people that understand the highs and lows of majoring in STEM,小蝌蚪APP she said.  

After graduating from UL Lafayette, Dae小蝌蚪APP橨a hopes to land more internship opportunities that align with her interests and career goals.  

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