Senior Engineering major Claudia Papola has dealt with her fair share of late nights and long days with homework, volleyball practice, club meetings and projects – however, this doesn’t necessarily mean that she won’t miss PhilaU when she graduates this year. Claudia is now looking forward to furthering her knowledge and gaining a career in the field of textile engineering, and I talked to her to discuss her thoughts on her last 3 years here at Philadelphia University.
“I am so happy I chose to attend Philadelphia University. I fell in love with the campus and I liked the diverse amount of majors on campus. With the small engineering program and small classes, I knew it would be very beneficial,” she told me when I asked how she chose PhilaU. Although my major is not engineering, I agree with Claudia that the diversity of students at PhilaU adds to the collaborations we have going on every day in the classrooms. Another favorite thing of Claudia’s about Philadelphia University has been the close community there is on campus! On why she chose the engineering field, Claudia said she “really enjoyed math and science in high school and my physics teacher led me in the direction of the engineering career path.” She’s taken this into extra-curricular realm and is also an avid member of the Engineering Club.
To gain knowledge in the field of engineering, Claudia has had two internships with the Navy at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia the past two summers. Each internship was an amazing experience for her, but she said her favorite part was “getting to use a $300k 3D printer! I also liked meeting new people from different parts of the country at the Navy Yard.” Claudia had the amazing opportunity to work on a project regarding a vest that was redesigned to help correct Multiple Sclerosis patients balance issues. This project stuck with Claudia because she wants to “create devices to help improve peoples quality of life. There are a lot of opportunities with textiles such as braces and other medical equipment that could be made.” Her aim is to become a Project Manager of a bio-medical/textile engineering company after graduation.
On a lighter note, I asked her what she is most looking forward to after graduation. She replied with “no longer staying up late to study for tests!” Claudia is very close with her family and their two dogs Pinot & Stoli, but she said she is also looking forward to moving somewhere new and getting her own dog (preferably a rescue)!
At the end of our conversation, I asked what she will miss most about Philadelphia University. She said “I think I am going to miss the community, the friends and all of the opportunities that this school provided me. The professors are willing to go above and beyond to help us on projects and on internship opportunities. PhilaU is really a community that works together to do amazing things.”