Spotlights
Michelle Ho
PhD candidate
As a kid, I wore the same Halloween costume for three or four years straight: an orange NASA …
Read Michelle Ho's story
Juliette Woodrow
PhD candidate
Computer Science
When I took my first computer science course at Stanford, CS106A, I was hooked. I loved the …
Read Juliette Woodrow's story for December 10, 2025
Jay Sim
PhD candidate
Mechanical Engineering
I've always loved working with my hands. As a kid I played with building toys like Lego and …
Read Jay Sim's story for November 04, 2025
Matt Strong
PhD candidate
Computer Science
I want to see robots seeing and touching the world in a way more akin to humans, because I believe …
Read Matt Strong's story for October 21, 2025
Yuji Takubo
PhD candidate
Aeronautics and Astronautics
When you’re in a PhD program and you know you’ll be spending years working toward an academic or …
Read Yuji Takubo's story for July 17, 2025
Hannah Nabavi
MS ’26
Aeronautics and Astronautics
When I first came to Stanford, I was inspired because I saw that the courses aren’t just …
Read Hannah Nabavi's story for July 01, 2025
Noah Eckman
PhD candidate
Chemical Engineering
I’m excited to go into work every day because someone might be working on something I don’t …
Read Noah Eckman's story for May 28, 2025
Samuel King
PhD candidate
Bioengineering
I grew up in a very rural part of Canada and loved the outdoors, so I initially wanted to become a …
Read Samuel King's story for April 22, 2025
Marigold Malinao
PhD candidate
Materials Science and Engineering
I’ve always been inclined toward math and science, but it’s still a bit of a mystery how I chose …
Read Marigold Malinao's story for April 15, 2025
Varun Madan
Undergraduate
Computer Science
In some ways you could say honeybees are the reason I’m at Stanford today …
Read Varun Madan's story for March 18, 2025
Sonia Martin
PhD candidate
Mechanical Engineering
When I first began making decisions about college and my career, I didn’t even know what …
Read Sonia Martin's story for October 17, 2024
Thomas Colburn
PhD candidate
Materials Science and Engineering
I was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. We were …
Read Thomas Colburn's story for June 25, 2024
Kayla Patterson
MS ’24
Computer Science
I was born and raised in Robbinsville, a small town in central New Jersey …
Read Kayla Patterson's story for June 11, 2024
Adrienne Propp
PhD candidate
Institute for Computational & Mathematical Engineering
I never planned to become a mathematician. I liked math growing up because it made sense to me – …
Read Adrienne Propp's story for April 23, 2024
Lara Weed
PhD candidate
Bioengineering
I was always interested in how the world worked, and looking back now, I can see my interest in …
Read Lara Weed's story for April 09, 2024
Sebastian Fernández
PhD candidate
Electrical Engineering
I was born in Cusco, Peru, located at an altitude of 11,000 feet in the Andes, where we lived with …
Read Sebastian Fernández's story for March 21, 2024
Tinevimbo Ndlovu
MS ’24
Aeronautics and Astronautics
I’ve always thought planes were cool. I went on my first flight when I was 6, from my hometown of …
Read Tinevimbo Ndlovu's story for January 25, 2024
Gregory Zaborski
PhD candidate
Materials Science and Engineering
I was raised by my Sicilian mother in the small town of Saugerties in upstate New York …
Read Gregory Zaborski's story for November 28, 2023
Edward Apraku
PhD candidate
Civil & Environmental Engineering
I was born in Kumasi, Ghana, and moved to the U.S. with my parents and older sister when I was 2 …
Read Edward Apraku's story for September 21, 2023
Emma Kaeli
PhD candidate
Materials Science and Engineering
When I first started college, someone asked if I wanted to join the Society of Women Engineers, but …
Read Emma Kaeli's story for August 28, 2023
Skyler St. Pierre
PhD candidate
Mechanical Engineering
I study how we can use neural networks and machine learning to better understand the mechanics of …
Read Skyler St. Pierre's story for June 20, 2023
Michael Kwara
PhD candidate
Aeronautics and Astronautics
During the peak of COVID when large gatherings were rare, I joined thousands of people on a beach …
Read Michael Kwara's story for June 02, 2023