Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1532533
62 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2025 and I should pursue that career path. at stuck with me. I played French horn, so I wanted to pursue a degree in music performance. I also wanted to pursue math, so I started with a double major in music performance and math. When I took an Intro to Engineering course, things changed. I got to play around with Ardui- nos and build cool things, and I just loved seeing the artistic side of engineering. I loved the prob- lem solving and being involved in interdisciplin- ary teams was incredibly rewarding for me. Soon aer, I dropped both my double majors and switched to electrical engineering. I haven't looked back. I got involved with IPC during my junior year, and that's when I really started enjoying my electrical engineering courses. I got more involved in the RF side of PCB design, which is what I do in my career now. What's something that has surprised you about your career journey so far? What really surprised me is that I ended up going a more technical route, when at first I told myself I didn't want to do anything technical. I told myself, "I'll just do the people of side things and more quality stuff." But, as an IPC Student Board Member, I became involved with more professional development education. I moved toward PCB design because of a Pro- fessional Development Course I attended called Antenna eory, and I really clicked with it. I asked one of my EE professors if I could get involved in PCB design as an independent study and he allowed me to do that. I just love design- ing PCBs. It's been so rewarding to me. What was your experience like as an IPC Student Board Member? It's probably been my favorite experience so far. During COVID, my IPC Student Chapter was losing steam. I hadn't been involved, but someone suggested that I help get it restarted. I took a leadership position so I could get it on my resumé. When I did that, my professor pushed me into talking to the IPC Education Foundation. He said I should apply for IPC's Emerging Engineer program, and once I did, IPC told me I would be a great candidate for the Student Board Member position. "What is that?" I wondered. "What do you want me to do?" But I applied, was selected, and attended IPC APEX EXPO. I met the board of directors, and they're incredible people. I felt like I grew profession- ally so much in that experience. I was able to give my opinion to these CEOs and CTOs and my opinion was valued. ey had many years of experience, and I didn't have any. It helped me look at engineer- ing from a new, fresh perspective. I had been a little discouraged in my classes because I didn't think I was perfect or smart enough to give my opinion. But now I know more people in the industry and that if I have a question, I just need to ask it. Being in that role gave me a new level of personal and professional confidence. Hannah, what advice do you have for aspiring engineers? My advice is to just put yourself out there and network with everyone. Don't be afraid to say something stupid—we all do it, especially the first year at APEX EXPO. Take every sin- gle opportunity that comes your way. I believe my career grew by taking the moonshots that I Hannah Grace