As a transfer student from Contra Costa College, Alexa Chua ('11) wasn’t sure engineering was the right place for her. That is, until an adviser told her to sit in on an Eng. 1 lecture. There, Chua heard a lecture given by Maury Hull, professor of mechanical and aerospace Engineering, and discovered a focus (biomechanics) that made her sure she wanted to be an engineer.
Chua wants a background in engineering before she pursues her lifetime goal: to be a commercial airline pilot. After transferring from Contra Costa College, she admits she was a bit overwhelmed at first: “The campus is so much bigger, and there are so many opportunities,” she says. But Chua has hit the ground running, and is already involved with the Hawaiian club, PASE (Pilipino Americans in Science and Engineering), and CALESS (Chicano And Latin Engineers and Scientists Society). “It’s all right in front of you,” Chua says. “It’s incredibly easy to get involved.”
Chua also hopes that her success as a transfer student and as a female engineer will help dispel the notions of a male-dominated field. She wants to break down the barriers of low expectation and intimidation for female engineers and scientists. She has already begun serving as a role model, participating in a program at Contra Costa College called “Expanding Your Horizons”, where she and several other female engineering students spoke to 60 middle-school aged young women about their paths to becoming engineers and their attempts to dispel stereotypical portrayals of female engineers in the media.
Chua believes that engineering is such a broad field that she can do almost anything with it, especially because of the cross-disciplinary nature of engineering projects. If it seems like Chua is ambitious, it’s because she is. The sky is the limit for her, and she clearly feels at home there. When asked why she wants to be an airline pilot, she responded simply, “I’ve always wanted to fly.”
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