This is a guest blog entry about Halexandra Alvarenga written by Keilani Kozen.
Halexandra is a senior majoring in Chemical Engineering (CHE) from Houston, Texas. A transfer student from California Baptist University, she is a first generation Latinx college student who chose USC in order to gain a wider grasp on the engineering world and get more involved with her fellow engineering and Hispanic students.
She is actively involved in Women In Engineering (WIE) on campus, serving as assistant director of events such as the Fall/Spring Launch at the beginning of the semester, acting as an introduction to what WIE has to offer for more marginalized and underrepresented groups in the field such as women, the queer community, etc.
Although much of her CHE courses are mathematically demanding, Halexandra enjoys taking classes outside of engineering to escape from the challenging nature of the curriculum. Her favorite courses are those outside of her major, such as a pottery elective course she is actively taking, helping her to distract from her demanding major coursework and enjoy her senior year.
Although a CHE major now, Halexandra initially started as a Physics major with a dream to work for NASA. After one summer interning there, deciding she did not want to pursue Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering, and wanting to be better represented as a woman in the field, she switched to CHE.
As a Computer Science in Business Administration student, although our two majors are drastically different from each other, I feel supported by Halexandra’s mentorship and guidance to another transfer student, and her unique experiences in her field help me to navigate the confusing, exciting, wildly frustrating, empowering journey that is undergraduate engineering!
