Since middle school, Braedyn White ’26 (Mechanical Engineering) has been interested in engineering.
“When I first learned about all the different things you can do in college or trade school, I knew I enjoyed math and was good at building things, so that was what led me to engineering,” said White.
After high school, he decided to pursue that passion at the University of Indianapolis as a first-generation college student because he was drawn to the R.B. Annis School of Engineering’s DesignSpine curriculum, a project-based approach to learning.
“Through DesignSpine, you get to work with an actual client on a real year-long project as a student all four years. You don’t get that opportunity at most universities,” said White. “Being able to do that seemed fun and exciting.”
Because of DesignSpine, White has learned additional skills that he would not get in a traditional classroom environment, especially since the curriculum allowed him to work with an outside company during his sophomore year. This experience also helped him get an internship at AMP Robotics during his junior year.
“In a way, the program forces us to learn new skills that we wouldn’t normally learn just in class,” said White. “Working with an outside company was the experience that got me my internship in my third year. The curriculum helped the school stand out, but it also helped me as a student stand out.”
Throughout his experience at UIndy, White has felt supported by the faculty and staff in the School of Engineering. He is grateful for his mechanical engineering professors, Dr. Eliot Motato, Dr. Suranga Dharmarathne, and Dr. MD Rashedul Sarker, and their constant support and encouragement during difficult assignments.
“Dr. Motato, Dr. Dharmarathne, and Dr. Sarker have been great,” said White. “Anytime I’ve had issues or something went wrong, they didn’t care what time of day it was. If I messaged them, they’re there. Even when it was as small as a question about a homework assignment graded for completion, they were always there when I said I was struggling. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to succeed the way I have.”
White was also a resident assistant (RA) for the Engineering Living-Learning Community during his sophomore and junior years, and the experience taught him useful leadership and mentoring skills.
“As a person, I was never very good at being a mentor or teaching in any kind of capacity, but being an RA for the LLC has helped tremendously with learning those skills,” said White. “On top of that, I’ve been able to build connections with some of the newer students and also help them build connections.”
Now in his senior year, White and a group of students have been working with the company Basic Utility Vehicles (BUV) on a final project. White and his group are building electric basic utility vehicles (eBUV) that are going to be used in small villages in Africa to help transport food and clean water to villagers.
“The eBUV we’re building right now is going to go to Niger, and then BUV is going to take the plans. If they like them enough, the BUV will put it into production so that people can order them,” said White.
This project has given White and other engineering students the opportunity to apply their knowledge as a group without much interference from faculty and staff.
“We do everything we can on our own,” said White. “If we have questions, we go to the staff and faculty, but for the most part, we’re doing it ourselves.”
After his graduation, White plans to work at SMC in Noblesville and has already accepted the job offer there. He credits his experiences in the School of Engineering for getting him the job, and he feels that through UIndy, he has learned even more skills outside of mechanical engineering that will benefit him.
“There are skills I’ve learned that I didn’t necessarily need to be a mechanical engineer, but I have them,” said White. “Now, I can reference those skills later on.”
White hopes that future mechanical engineering students at UIndy will ask for help and persevere through their difficult classes because he believes the challenge is worth it.
“The first couple of years are really hard,” said White. “They are really math and physics-intensive. Find it in yourself to work through it, go to tutoring, ask professors for help, do whatever you need to succeed. If you get that done, the last two years are really rewarding. You really jump into the hardcore mechanical engineering courses, and you get to use the skills that you have learned.”