“I think what really sets the department apart from other schools is really just how approachable the faculty are...”

College of Sciences | Engineering & Physics

One of the biggest lessons college students learn is how to manage their time. However, student athletes have an even bigger challenge than most when it comes to handling a hectic schedule and a challenging major. Electrical engineering major and soccer player Jacob Stevens said that the most important thing for him was time-management.

“Engineering is a lot of work,” Stevens said. “It just took a lot discipline. It was a lot of working while on away trips and sitting in the hotel lobby at 11 o’clock at night when everybody else is up hanging out.”

Stevens also said that he could not do it all without the help of his professors.

“I think what really sets the department apart from other schools is really just how approachable the faculty are,” Stevens said. “They’re always very responsive and helpful if we need anything. In my four years, I have been in my teachers’ offices hundreds of times getting help. If I had questions I could always go in.”

Stevens feels he would never trade his experience as a student athlete for a less hectic schedule and said his favorite college memories happened with his team.

“Some of my favorite parts of college were on soccer trips,” Stevens said. “I have close friends in the engineering department, and I have close friends in my social club, but my best friends are on the soccer team. I got to hang out with them, have a great time and talk about real things. Some of my favorite experiences just took place on the bus to away games.”

Stevens will be moving to south Texas after graduation to work as a mechanical engineer in the oil and gas industry.