Name: Guillermo Inostroza
Born: Miami, FL
Major: mechanical and aerospace engineering
Hobbies: tennis, cycling, rock climbing and kayaking
Guillermo Inostroza is currently a junior at UF and is an aspiring mechanical and aerospace engineer. Although Inostroza studies and works most days, he isn’t a stranger from taking time to relax and enjoy himself.
Her Campus: Mechanical and aerospace engineering is a very daunting major to pursue. What made you want to study it?
Guillermo Inostroza: “I loved math, and I still do! As a young boy for some reason I liked to solve challenging problems. I was always curious to understand how things worked even as a child, so I believe that’s how it first started. This curiosity grew even more when I enrolled in an engineering program and took on more science courses in high school. This definitely kick-started my goal to become an engineer. Physics was one of my favorites. I just love making things work, be it by building a robot or fixing a computer program. This feeling of accomplishment is something I feel no other major could do for me. It may be daunting, but I can say that it is never boring. There’s always something new in the engineering world and there always will be.”
HC: I’m sure you have some late nights studying. What do you do to keep yourself motivated?
GI: “Coming from yesterday’s long night of studying for a quiz this morning, I like to either take short 10-minute power naps or listen to soft-playing music in the background. I’ll listen to pretty much anything, but my go-to genres for studying are electronic music and classic rock. Sometimes even classical music, because who doesn’t like to jam out to some Beethoven while studying?”
HC: Do you have any tips to anyone pulling an all-nighter?
GI: “I personally like my sleep, so I don’t like to pull many all-nighters. However, I would recommend drinking coffee if you really have to pull an all-nighter. It gives you a great boost of energy to keep you awake and focused. Coming from a Hispanic background, I’ve found that Cuban coffee is the way to go! Also, try to study with your classmates or other friends pulling all-nighters in the library study rooms so they can help you if you don’t understand a certain topic. They can also help you stay focused and motivated. However, if you can avoid an all-nighter by managing your study time accordingly throughout the day and prior to whatever you’re studying for, then you should get your beauty sleep at night.”
HC: What was your most memorable all-nighter? Did anything interesting happen?
GI: “One out of the few, but memorable, all-nighters was studying for Calculus 2 in one of the big eight-person study or conference rooms in Library West my freshman year. It was six of us studying from about 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and it was all about series and sequences, a confusing topic for some. I had brought my Expo markers, and everyone in the room was assigned a problem to do on their own, and they had to explain it on the board like a professor. We were well prepared for the exam in a couple days and aced it. After being all hopped on Starbucks coffee, there was a point we all needed a break and started watching fail compilations on YouTube. We couldn’t stop laughing with every video we saw for some reason. We were probably very delusional.”
HC: How do you celebrate after turning in a project or taking a test you studied so hard for?
GI: “I like to have a nice two- to three-hour date with my bed after a long test day, or after turning in a project. But if it’s a Friday night, I’ll either go play pingpong or pool with my awesome roommates. And if we don’t have more exams or homework to do, we’ll go out on a night on the town. Nowadays, I don’t have too much time to celebrate, as I’ll have a homework or even another exam for another class in a couple of days, so I have to study or do work for that.”
Photo Courtesy of Guillermo Inostroza