Joey Freeland

10-21-16

Cumulative Reflection
As my four years at Iowa State University come to a close, I can reflect on my
experience thus far. The time certainly went fast, and I have learned more than I thought I
would. I have learned so many new engineering skills in addition to new life skills. College is
supposed to prepare you for a career, and I think my time at Iowa State has done that. I grew
through both in-class and extracurricular activities, and I believe that my experience as a whole
has made me a well-rounded student, ready for entry into the professional world.
In a technical sense, I have grown immensely since high school. I started my college
career taking introductory circuits classes and other math courses. These were not always the
most exciting or interesting, but they were preparing me for the second half of my degree.
During my freshman year I got the chance to research in the physics department, simulating
data from a particle accelerator. This was my first experience doing research, and I enjoyed it
quite a bit. I worked by myself on small projects assigned to me by a professor. At the same
time I learned that I did not want to do research for a career.
During my junior year, I took my hardest but most rewarding course, EE330. The class
covers VLSI and microelectronics. It was my first in-depth introduction to transistors and
amplifier design, and while the class took most of my time, it was extremely beneficial as an
engineer. At the end of EE330 we designed an electronic theremin that could fit onto a tiny
integrated circuit - only about 4 square millimeters. Looking back, the class taught me how to
truly learn something new and never forget it.
Another class I enjoyed taking was EE333X. This was an open-ended design class in
which we defined our own project, to be completed over the course of a semester. My partner
and I decided to design and build a Class-D amplifier. Over the course of the semester, I
learned many new things: PCB design, testing circuit boards, ordering parts, and working well
with a partner. In the end, our project was a success and the amplifier worked very well. It
helped develop both my technical and soft skills.
My education has also taught me about working with groups. In the workplace, you
rarely work alone, so group work principles are very important. Working with other people is
sometimes slower than working by yourself - but with a group you get more ideas, more total

work, and a more accurate representation of a professional engineering company. Throughout

almost all of my labs, we worked in pairs or groups of three. Senior design expanded the group
size to 5-10, which is a new dynamic, but more similar to the workplace.
In addition to technical skills, the courses at Iowa State have prepared me to be a
contemporary engineer. The work we do will undoubtedly have socioeconomic impacts, and
taking general education courses has helped me broaden my non-technical horizons. I think
that social considerations are some of the most important things to think about in an engineering
problem, especially in todays modern world. Im grateful to Iowa State for having such a broad
view of our jobs as engineers.
Luckily, I do not have any regrets about my undergraduate experience so far. I came
into my degree wanting to focus on electromagnetics, and thats the specialization I will
graduate with. In addition, I was able to finish my years with a high GPA, which was the result
of having classmates to collaborate with. If I had another chance to go through my four years at
Iowa State, I wouldnt change anything.
I have greatly enjoyed my learning experience at ISU thus far. I have gained a huge
amount of technical knowledge, learning things that I never thought I would understand. I feel I
am well-prepared for a job in that regard. In addition, I have more experience in considering the
ethical and social implications of solving engineering problems. Overall, I believe it will make
me a well-rounded engineer in the professional workplace.