St. Cloud State's electrical engineering program ignited my passion, not with lectures, but with project-based curriculum. Engineering theory was taught during lectures - but learned during projects. Each project pushing deeper, which is what developed my critical thinking.
St. Cloud didn't just compete with other universities; it redefined what engineering education could be. The depth and complexity of these projects rival any education, forging much more than technical skills.
My deepest gratitude to the SCSU Engineering Department for that transformative experience. I'm confident that specifically this education yields the best return on investment.
Baumann is a software engineer for Google working on the Play Store Android client. He previously worked for Amazon as an Android developer on the Appstore for Android and for The Boeing Company in Huntington Beach, California. While at Boeing, he earned his master of science degree through Carnegie Mellon University's remote program.
"I grew up thinking I wanted to be a mechanical engineer until I almost failed out of community college fumbling through an education that I didn’t have any passion for. After St. Cloud State faculty visited my college and described the (computer engineering) program’s offerings, I realized my passion for computers and transferred.
During my senior year at SCSU, I participated in the senior design course, during which my team received a $1,200 research grant from Sponsored Programs. This allowed my team to focus on the technical issues of the project without needing to raise funds or obsess over frugality.
I was offered a co-op position at The Boeing Company. This delayed my graduation by a semester, but at the urging of CoSE faculty, I took it and it kickstarted my career. When I graduated, Boeing offered me a full time software engineering (SE) position.
In 2011, I was contacted by a recruiter at Amazon regarding an Android development position and jumped at the opportunity. ... I was contacted by Google in late 2014. After an intense round of interviews, I was extended an offer and have been with Google since."
Lulu is a staff firmware engineer at Qualcomm, in the 5G modem software team. Her team leads the innovation and development of the 5G wireless technology, as part of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platforms. Before moving to San Diego and joining Qualcomm, Lulu worked as a software engineer at Nonin Medical, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. She got her master’s degree in Software Engineering(MSSE) from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities while working at Nonin.
Besides work, Lulu is passionate about sharing her journey as a woman engineer as well as her technical expertise on 5G wireless technology. Lulu has spoken at several conferences and events in the past regarding women in tech and 5G technology. She presented about 5G wireless technology at several conferences, such as ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing, Women Who Code San Diego.
Lulu is proud to be a St. Cloud State alumnus, ECE department, where she gained not only in-depth technical knowledge on embedded systems and problem solving via the hands-on projects, but also developed her leadership skills via the student organizations provided by the department. She was the president of Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and a member of IEEE at St. Cloud State. Lulu and team (ECE students and professors) hosted a number of events successfully for junior-high school girls to help them better understand science and engineering and inspire them to get into the STEM field.
"I loved the smaller class size setting for engineering courses. I worked with many students in my department and developed good long term friends. Also, professors were engaged in project and homework discussions with students, and this helped me gain better understanding of the engineering courses."