Meet Garrett Fisher — Featured Student for May 2015

Where are you from?

Onsted, MI

What school do you go to? What year are you?

Western Michigan University, junior in year but senior in credits

Do you hold any positions in your AIChE chapter or with AIChE nationally?

Previously: Undergraduate Representative, Current: Treasurer

Describe an event in your chapter that you are most proud to have been involved with.

I am most proud of the AIChE Student Chapter Adopt-a-Highway Cleanup that my chapter does. I have been involved with it consistently since I began my schooling here at WMU and I always have an enjoyable time with it.

What are your plans after graduation? In what field are you most interested in having an impact?

Currently my plan is to work towards a bachelor's degree in both chemical and paper engineering. The fields that I have developed an interest in are paper products (specialty/board), pharmaceutical, food chemistry, and petroleum-based products.

How do you blow off steam and keep your sanity between classes, homework and projects?

I, like other males in college, keep my sanity by either playing copious amount of video games with all of my friends or I play recreational sports with them. I really enjoy volleyball and bowling, however Frisbee has become more and more popular as a go-to sport in the summer. I also enjoy skiing, which is plentiful around WMU's campus in the winter, now it is just a question of getting my friends out into the cold to join me.

Which of your undergraduate classes have you most enjoyed?

I have most enjoyed my material balance class in college due to the professor who taught it. He set it up very well and was open to questions at all times. This open atmosphere encouraged plenty of learning on my part and overall led to the large amount of information that I learned in this class.

How did you decide to pursue a degree in ChE?

This may seem cliche, but at a very young age I was able to determine that I was extremely gifted in the areas of chemical and paper engineering, which made it very easy to choose my path when the time came.

What will you be most saddened to leave behind at school when you move on?

I will be most saddened to leave my friends that I have made at WMU when I leave for my future job. Coming from a small village like Onsted, which had a total population of about 400 people, I was very worried about my ability to fit in and make friends when I came to such a large college like WMU. However, I have developed a great group of friends that I never thought I would be able to develop and I will be sad to see this tight-knit group of engineers get broken up once graduation hits.

Do you have any advice to incoming students and underclassmen ChEs around the world?

Learn how to, or actually for some, study for test as this is the majority of your grade in college. Also, it is very important to develop a study group early on in college as this is not such a competitive major and it will take the help of many people to survive the long road ahead of you.

How would you like to be involved with AIChE after graduation?

I would like to either be involved in my regional chapter (wherever I may end up) or the national chapter. I am also considering being involved in specific subcommittees that may arise during my time in the chapter.

Comments

Nemoy Rau's picture

Love that you did "Adopt a Highway" at your chapter. Something to really be proud of!