Abby Seibel
Computer Engineering
Contact
Hometown: Elkhorn, NE
High school: Elkhorn
Semester Selected: Spring 2020
What’s your dream job? To work in environmental technology specifically with water and energy. I think it would be really awesome to help build a system for water management that better accounts for the flow of water, and reduces the ways in which treatment facilities waste water. I would also possibly be interested in other ways to innovate new technology that saves water. If I cannot work in the water sector, I think Energy would be a very cool area to work in. People are really weary of environmental technology because they think of technology as a social tool, or a tool that creates pollution, and I want them to see there are many ways technology can be implemented with water and how environmental technology is a pathway to a better future.
What is the best project you’ve ever worked on or really admire in STEM? I am really interested in things that use tech for clean energy and water. There are a lot of really inventive ways people are trying to save energy in addition to the more common wind and hydroelectric power sources. For example, it is an idea to try and harness energy in cities from the friction of foot traffic, and although this is just a kind of extravagant idea, it is cool that people care so much.
How do you use STEM in your life? In a basic sense I use it daily in my major, but I am also using it in my free time. The best example is that this summer I am going to be doing a research project in Iceland that focuses on renewable energy and environmental technology. I will be doing an independent project that I decide on after learning the basics of resource economics and I am hoping to focus on something that ties computer science into environmentalism.
Who is someone (teacher, mentor, role model) in STEM you look up to and why? Reshma Saujani - she is the woman who founded girls who code. Her movement is what started programs like the summer camp that taught me to code two years ago. Without her, tech would be even less accessible to women. In terms of people I have had as teachers, so far at UNL Kevin Gonzales and Chris Bourke have been the two professors who are really passionate about what they teach, and their passion makes learning so much fun. They relate what we are learning to the real world, and are so very helpful. Their passion makes me more excited about STEM and what I can do with it.
What excites you about STEM? I enjoy the fact that there are endless possibilities in the STEM world. Unlike other professions there is no strict domain as to what I get to do with my degree. I can make my own path, and if I don't like what I am doing, I have the resources to find a new project, or start a project of my own that is more impactful to me. I also really like the fact that STEM is focused on helping others. Overall, Engineering is here to help people live easier and more fulfilling lives.
What are you looking forward to in the STEM CONNECT program? I think that this program will help me actualize my goals instead of having them be these big ideas I have that don't get put into action. I also think it will help me learn more. I am newer to the technology field and can sometimes feel a little behind or out of place because I haven't been coding for years. I think that STEM CONNECT will be a really good support system for me, and will help me explore STEM more boldly.