Student Spotlight: Megan Oliveros

Civil engineering major spent the summer in UCLA program

ECC graduate Megan Oliveros spent the summer immersed in engineering research. As a participant in the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science Transfer Student Summer Research Program, she had access to hands-on research, the scientific process and a glimpse at her future – she transferred to UCLA in fall 2017 to continue her engineering studies.

"I became quite familiar with the research process, making plans on how to answer a problem and conduct experiments with my labmate and Ph.D. mentor," said the engineering major, who is also a 2015 graduate of West High School in Torrance. "The experience confirmed that I have a strong interest in the field of environmental engineering. I am more interested in research now and may pursue higher degrees in the future."

Megan was one of eight ECC Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) | Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) students who attended the eight-week UCLA student summer research program this past June. The full-time, summer undergraduate internship is designed specifically for community college students who plan to transfer to a university to study engineering. Each scholar was challenged with extensive hands-on research activities under the guidance of faculty and graduate student mentoring teams. These research projects culminated with a presentation at a final poster session, where scholars presented findings from their summer research. Student work will also be published in the annual Summer Undergraduate Scholars Program journal.