Ellie Schilling '24 has always wanted to be an engineer. 她的祖父是一位电气工程教授，对她的影响很大. She was fascinated by his tales about technological advancements.
“他会给我讲所有关于房间大小的电脑的神奇故事, and how suddenly they can fit in our pockets," Schilling said. “我一直认为人们能够创造和发明这样的东西真是太神奇了. I wanted to be a part of it."
Schilling fulfilled her dream at St. Ambrose University. 这个地方不仅让她增强了自信，还帮助她追求自己的许多兴趣.
Her accolades are many - three-time national champion with the St. Ambrose dance team, co-captain of the dance team, 一项关于学生支持服务和体育运动之间合作的研究的共同研究员, math tutor, and co-founder of Math Club.
“能参与其中，并帮助引导一些比我更长久的事情，感觉真的很好," Schilling said. “这是我一直想做的事情，但我认为我永远不会完成. 但我确实完成了一些事情，我希望这些事情能长期存在."
Schilling was quiet in high school. 不是那种带着这么多成就离开大学的人.
"I used to be very, very shy. I would never talk. 我只是低着头，做完该做的事，然后回家了."
But Schilling found her place at St. Ambrose. It all started with a simple internet search.
“我真的不知道这个地区还有其他的工程项目，所以我就在谷歌上搜索了一下附近的工程项目,' and St. Ambrose popped up," Schilling explained. "I hadn't heard of St. 但我看到的一件事是他们赢得了全国舞蹈冠军. 我想‘这可能是一件很酷的事情，我可以尝试参与其中，同时也能拿到学位.'"
Schilling has been dancing since she was two years old. 她在爱荷华城长大，知道大学校不适合她. When she found St. galaxy银河娱乐场app是一所拥有工程学位的学校，她可以参加一个舞蹈队的比赛，这似乎是一场完美的比赛. A recruiting clinic sealed her fate.
“教练谈论大学和她管理的项目的方式, really made me realize that I wanted to be a part of the school here, and I wanted to be part of a community like that, and I never got that feeling from any other university," Schilling said.
Every experience she was promised at that clinic was fulfilled. One-on-one time with professors - check. A tight-knit community-check. Knowing everyone in your major - check. A supportive environment committed to student success - check.
A double major in mechanical engineering and math, 席林必须保持条理和专注，才能按时毕业，平衡繁重的工作量. 她说，这并不容易，但成为舞蹈队的一员帮助她保持专注，并激发了她帮助其他学生运动员取得成功的热情.
Schilling became a Calculus I tutor in St. 在galaxy银河娱乐场app的学生成功中心. 随着她在数学课程上的进步，她继续在她的辅导计划中增加课程. During that time, she got to know Sarah Rissler, PhD, director of the Student Success Center, who inspired Schilling to care about the success of those around her.
瑞斯勒给数学导师发了封邮件，询问是否有人能帮她统计一下体育自习室的数据, Schilling jumped at the opportunity.
“我从一开始就知道这是galaxy银河娱乐场app需要的东西，”席林说. “在啦啦队和舞蹈队，我们遇到了一些问题，舞者和啦啦队长很有天赋，但他们在学业上不合格，所以他们不能在垫子上，也不能在球场上.
“我说服了我的教练，让啦啦队和舞蹈队成为体育自习室的一部分. We went from five athletes ineligible to only one athlete ineligible, which is a huge difference in just a year."
Schilling partnered with another student, Emily McColgan '24, on the athletics study hall research project. They presented their findings at the annual St. Ambrose Undergraduate Scholars Conference.
“我们有一些非常有趣的数据表明，这些自习室特别对galaxy银河娱乐场app足球队产生了积极的影响," Schilling said. “一旦我们从足球队和其他开始参加自习室的球队获得更多数据, 我真的希望我们能发表一篇论文，展示这些运动自习室的好处, specifically for NAIA schools."
During her summer breaks, 席林通过实习来扩大她对工程领域的了解. She interned at SSAB, 在爱荷华州的一家钢铁厂，她学习了工程师常用的软件;在德克萨斯州的萤火虫航空公司，她帮助测试了将卫星送入轨道的火箭发动机. She received job offers from both companies.
“那是一次非凡的经历，”席林谈到她在萤火虫航空公司的时光. “我向一些航空航天公司发送了一堆申请，只是想看看我是否会受到他们的关注. Honestly, I didn't really expect to hear back. 我是一所小大学里的无名小卒，在黑暗中瞎猜. When I heard back I was super excited."
Schilling is still weighing her job options, but Firefly is at the top of her list for post-college opportunities.
According to Schilling, none of her achievements at St. Ambrose would have been possible at another university.
“galaxy银河娱乐场app给了我信心，让我去尝试那些我认为自己做不到的事情. Like the Firefly internship I got. 我真的不认为我能被录取，但我还是申请了. 如果我去的是一所更大的学校，我想我不会有这样的信心. 如果我消失在背景中，继续做高中时的自己. 在这所学校真的让我展现出了更自信的一面."
Her ultimate goal is to work with robots. And although that might not be in her immediate future, 席林galaxy银河娱乐场app自己拥有成为一名成功的机械工程师所需的工具.
“我认为我比别人有优势，因为我已经开始就我感兴趣的事情提出真正深刻的问题. 我在我的教育中获得了真正的实践经验，我认为我在一所大学校是得不到的."
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