Q&A with Anthony De Rango

Anthony is a student ambassador here to answer your questions. Click here to contact Anthony.

What inspired you to choose engineering?

I was inspired to choose engineering because of the number of possibilities it can create. Not only in the sense that it opens doors in my future, but it also allows me to use my creativity and ingenuity. I always enjoyed and excelled in math and the sciences. I liked taking courses related to these subjects in high school, however, I was restricted to learning mostly theory.

Engineering is all about taking your own ideas and then actually applying them in real life. It draws on both theoretical and practical thinking and I found that really enticing. I also enjoy working with other people to accomplish a task. I find it interesting how different people can come up with so many diverse solutions to solve the exact same problem. Engineering allows people to group together and tackle a task, which was another reason I was drawn to the field.

Ever since I was young, I was always been captivated by the systems that worked around. From transportation networks and city structure to the phones in our pockets, we thrive on these systems to power our everyday life. As an engineer, not only can you learn to understand these mechanisms, you are able to use your creativity to build your own designs, or even enhance those that were created by others. This realization ultimately inspired me to become an engineer.

Why did you choose Western Engineering?

After deciding to pursue engineering as an undergraduate degree, I looked at many different universities and programs in order to find what would best suit my wants and needs. For many reasons, Western Engineering stood out as my top choice. First of all, Western provides engineering students the opportunity of having a common first year. This gave me the freedom of experiencing all of the different streams of engineering before committing myself to a certain path. Although I already had an idea about a few of the branches that I was interested in, the common first year kept my options open. It also allowed me to discover new interests in some of the first-year courses that I never would have taken had I gone straight into a specific stream.

Another good opportunity that Western offers is their combined degree programs with engineering and either Western Law or Business. Getting a degree in engineering is very valuable in today’s workforce, however, being able to receive another undergraduate degree in a short period of time is an extremely unique opportunity. Especially for someone who was considering both engineering and business post-secondary programs, Western’s five-year dual degree program has made it possible for me to combine both of these interests in my studies.

A third major factor that led me to choose Western Engineering was my experience when visiting the university last year. When walking around the campus and especially touring the engineering buildings, I was impressed, to say the least. From the many conversations I had with older students, and from the observations I made, I got a taste of the strong sense of community within Western Engineering. I also saw many workshops and facilities, many of them newly built or renovated, that were being actively used by students to accomplish their projects. It is definitely cool being able to use those same resources this year either for my classes or during extra-curricular activities.

How do you manage school-related stress?

Many people say that engineering is a team sport. Ever since I have arrived here, I can understand why. There are many opportunities to meet new people within engineering and everyone I have talked to has been willing to work cooperatively. Being in a study group has really helped me stay on top of my work and has aided me whenever I have any questions about a certain lecture or project. It is also really nice to have friends that are experiencing the same course load as me.

Can you talk about your extracurricular activities at Western?

Even though my time here at Western has been relatively short, I have been exposed to countless school clubs and teams that are always looking for new members. I joined Western Engineering’s Concrete Canoe Association where I have connected with a lot of upper-year engineering students. Aside from engineering, I also signed up for an intramural hockey team which has been a great way to play the sport I love and stay active. As I liked to join many extracurricular activities in high school, it is awesome that I have had the opportunity to stay involved at Western.