By Abby Moser.
In addition to managing my course load, interning at Lockheed Martin and working for Mathnasium of Littleton, my past year has been an endless cycle of researching tens of colleges and programs, only to apply, get accepted, and be faced with the hardest decision yet--deciding where to enroll.
I recently had the chance to interview for the University of Kansas SELF Program. SELF stands for the Self Engineering Leadership Fellows. The format of the interview was different from any other I had previously experienced--the day consisted of a lunch where we were asked to invent a new machine, a pre-interview with current SELF Fellows and a full panel interview. Besides successfully undergoing my first panel interview, I learned throughout the day that the program truly builds up their students to not only be strong engineers, but well-rounded leaders, as well. Accepting roughly 25-30 incoming freshman per year, the SELF program includes a small group of highly-motivated engineers with a passion for business and entrepreneurship. More specifically, the seven pillars of leadership, management, business, interpersonal skills, entrepreneurship, communication and engineering are emphasized through mentoring, coursework, seminars and leadership opportunities.
Since my dad went to the University of Kansas (Business Administration, 1985), the campus naturally feels like a second home to me. Once I was welcomed into SELF, however, I felt like I found my own, more defined place. I fell right in with new friends also applying to the program as I simultaneously began to picture myself on the campus in Lawrence, Kansas, studying in the state-of-the-art engineering labs and attending basketball games.
Although I am still waiting to hear from several schools ranging from MIT to Duke, my acceptance into the SELF program will no doubt make my decision tough. From the current CEO of Boeing to the founder of Google Earth (did you know that when you open Google Earth the default location is Lawrence?), incredible entrepreneurs and business men/women have successfully graduated from the SELF program and I expect that many more will too. The college search is like nothing I have ever experienced before, but finding unique programs such as SELF make the process worthwhile and give me inspiration for my future.
Postscript: Abby found out on 3/14/2017 she was accepted to MIT, and that makes deciding which university to attend even more difficult! Good luck Abby!
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