Allisha Parvez is the first recipient of our newly-formed IPS Scholar Award, awarded to a female engineering student at Stony Brook University. Parvez, a mechanical engineering student graduating in 2017, received a $2,500 scholarship from IPS that will be awarded annually.
“By creating this scholarship, we hope to help support the education and careers of promising female engineering students,” said Mitch Maiman, president of Intelligent Product Solutions. “Allisha is the first recipient of this award, and was selected as part of our commitment to supporting hard working, energetic and bright women in technology.”
A panel of Stony Brook University faculty selected Parvez, a native of Brooklyn and now living in Selden, for this scholarship, based on her academic excellence and demonstrated interest in innovation. Parvez is also a Stony Brook University Scholar, among the top 7% of the incoming class academically.
To learn more about Allisha’s interest and careers plans, we caught up with her between classes and wanted to share with you what we learned:
What are your career goals?
Once I started taking actual engineering courses, I realized that this stuff was interesting and applicable to literally everything to ever exist. I attended an event at LaunchPad Huntington over the summer where there were representatives from various engineering consulting firms, including Derek Peterson from IPS. They spoke about outsourcing, which is basically recruiting specialized professionals to complete a project, from what I understand. They spoke about the benefits and various scenarios of outsourcing. That day I learned about a career path that intrigued me like no other did. I hope to enter the field of product development engineering once I graduate. Being able to work on all kinds of projects is not only more than enough to keep me on my feet but also invaluable because it will allow me to constantly learn and be a better engineer.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities at Stony Brook?
I actually work at the Innovation Lab at Stony Brook University. It is a one of a kind, makerspace sort of area completely funded by donations. It offers a relaxing atmosphere where students, faculty, and staff can come in and collaborate in a cross-disciplinary way and it is where I have worked for the past couple of months. During my time there, I’ve been able to help members with all kinds of projects in various stages. We offer access to all kinds of resources beyond just a workspace and we also offer workshops where we teach the skills necessary to utilize these resources effectively. I am a technical assistant in the lab and my main role is to troubleshoot and maintain our various 3D printers. I also contribute to developing and leading workshops, such as one that I held this past week on an interactive 3D printer build.
Why did you decide to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering?
Studying engineering was very impulsive for me. When I discovered what actually constitutes engineering, I definitely appreciated my impulsive decision. I ended up choosing mechanical engineering instead of biomedical engineering and chemical, due to technicalities in major requirements but I am very happy that I did so. I appreciate that mechanical engineering gives me the option of entering a wide range of fields, rather than being limited to very few. I do have a greater appreciation and a growing interest for things like engines and the various mechanisms of machine design now, whereas before I would have dismissed both as boring and uninteresting. It is a form of engineering that has contributed to creating so much of what we use in our daily lives and it is fascinating to learn about.
