Dontavious S.
Hometown: Montgomery, AL
Major: Chemical Engineering
Alumni, Class of 2018
What advice would you give a student joining AEP?
No one can navigate this abyss we call Auburn engineering alone. The most important advice I can give is to make sure you are active in AEP. Show up to your all your collabs and to the Sunday Tutorials. If you cannot show up, please be respectful enough to tell your facilitator ahead of time or tell Dr. Brown you cannot make it. AEP is a great place for you to make life-long friends and be introduced to a plethora of opportunities. How can you experience these benefits, especially the scholarships, if you are not active? In other words…“You better show up and show out if you want that money, honey!”
Kayla M.
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Major: Chemical Engineering with a biomedical specialization
Alumni, Class of 2021
What does AEP provide/mean to you?
AEP means family to me. Being able to walk into a room with people who have similar goals and passion as you is an amazing feeling. There has never been a time when I couldn't ask a room full of people that i knew or didn't know for help on an assignment or concept I struggled with in class. AEP provides the academic support that I didn't know I needed as well as emotional support on days I thought I wanted to quit.
Melvin J.H.
Hometown: Decatur, Ga
Major/Minor: Civil Engineering, Applied Physics (Morehouse College)
Alumni, Class of 2018
What was your experience with the Summer Engineering Enrichment Program OR Dual Degree Program?
I’m an Atlanta University Center Consortium Dual- Degree Engineering Program (AUCC DDEP) transfer from Morehouse College. AEP was the first contact and direct liaison to DDEP. To know that there was a program to support underrepresented students was very comforting. It was very important for me to be active and meet students, faculty, alumni and corporate representatives. AEP afforded me the opportunity to do so with the implementation of the ambassador program. I also had the privilege to serve as a Summer Engineering Enrichment Program counselor during the summer of 2016.That was a great opportunity to influence the next generation of engineers and to portray the importance of AEP.
Lauren M.
Hometown: Daphne, AL
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Alumni, Class of 2021
What does AEP provide/mean to you?
As I reflect on my time at Auburn University, AEP has meant several things; the most important being a sense of family and a place of comfort to express myself. Never in my life have I ever been surrounded by so many brilliant minds that are striving to achieve the highest levels of success …and that look like me. The sense of community and constant support from the faculty, staff, and students of the Engineering Academic Excellence Program is unmatchable. AEP offers a plethora of opportunities that have allowed me to boost my academic levels of success, develop leadership skills, and enhance interpersonal and networking skills that can be used in any arena whether it be in everyday life, the work industry, or in higher-education such as a Master’s or Ph.D degree. I am ecstatic to see the growth and prosperity of the program in the years to come!
LaKeidra B.
Hometown: Birmingham, AL
Alumni, Class of 2015
Protection & Control Test Engineer at Alabama Power
How do you contribute and give back to AEP?
I give back to AEP through volunteer opportunities that arise on Auburn’s campus and also at Alabama Power’s corporate office. My goal is to continue to offer support to the program by enabling it to contribute to student’s lives in hopes that they will be afforded opportunities that will catapult them into their careers.
What advice would you give a student joining AEP?
The advantages provided by AEP are what you make it. The more effort and commitment you place into your study time and involvement, the more benefits you will reap from the program. The key to the success of any endeavor is consistency and determination. So, be consistent in the time you dedicate to establishing your future and stay determined through your persistency, no matter how small the task may seem. Those small tasks usually merge to form the building blocks of your future success.