Engineers' Scholarship Dinner 2008

Jennifer Sisto, a junior in the School of Engineering & Applied Science represented all scholarship recipients as the 2008 Engineers' Scholarship Dinner speaker. The transcript of her speech, sharing her Washington University experiences, is provided below.

Good evening students, donors, faculty, and staff. My name is Jennifer Sisto and I am a junior in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and I am here tonight on behalf of the students. First of all, I want to take a second to thank the School administration for allowing me the opportunity to share my story with all of you. Each student sitting in this room has a similar story to mine and we all couldn't be more grateful to be here.

I come to you tonight from the land of the Buckeye: Columbus, Ohio. More specifically I was raised in an adjacent suburb, Upper Arlington. Unlike some budding engineers, I didn't have any role models in the field-my mom is a nurse and my father an attorney. Somehow, however, through my love of math and pretty much all sciences, I fell into Engineering. This evening I am here not only representing the students of Engineering as a whole, but also the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering which houses my primary major, a B.S. in Applied Science for Systems Science & Mathematics. I am also pursuing Healthcare Management as a second major in the Olin School of Business. When not locked in the other Olin-the library-I have stayed fairly active on campus through the Congress of the South Forty, Alpha Phi, Chimes Junior Honorary, and The Office of Orientation. This week I have even been lucky enough to drive golf carts full of media around for the Vice Presidential Debates! Through various leadership positions and overall campus involvement, I have fallen in love again and again with Washington University. Right now, I can't picture my life outside of college, but one day I hope to merge my fields of study and work to systematically improve healthcare by applying engineering methodologies to the current challenges in that industry.

I had a wonderful experience last summer interning with OhioHealth in a process improvement department, which opened my eyes to the amount of waste, and therefore possibilities, in healthcare. I also hope to somehow work around Biomedical Engineering, which truth be told, was initially my major here at Washington University, but like any good college student, I changed my mind.

One of the reasons I loved Washington University was that unlike other college visits I went on, they didn't scare me with how hard it would be to change a major or combine studies with another school-both things that I now have done in my college career. Of course, practically anything they had said in the info session would have impressed me because the moment I stepped on campus I knew that it was Washington University or bust. The campus culture and academic offerings were stellar, but they couldn't beat that gut feeling that I knew I belonged.

There however, was one slight problem. Washington University is kind of expensive. Well, more than kind of expensive. With a brother who decided to spend six years in undergrad and an older sister that would be simultaneously enrolled at another one of the nation's most expensive universities, attending Washington University wasn't exactly going to be easy. I am from an extremely close family; we all lived within a 5-minute drive of each other, and out of 9 first cousins, only my sister and I ventured out of state to attend college. Without my parents understanding the process, I applied Early Decision I anyway and basically crossed my fingers. I guess finger-crossing really works because not only did I end up at the right institution for me, but I also have been lucky enough to receive a scholarship that has allowed me to stay here.

Without the generosity of my donors, I wouldn't be here to pursue my programs of study and participate in the amazing on goings of our campus. But most of all, their generous aid has helped me to become the best version of myself. My scholarship has let me enhance my past, take full advantage of the present, and hope for the future.

On behalf of all the students, it can't be said enough, thank you. Thank you for allowing us to further our education and ourselves through Washington University, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. In the future I hope to be able to provide the same support for a student in my place, and each of you has afforded me that hope.