Who are you ? Where do you come from ?
I’m Calvin and I’m from Wisconsin in the USA. I’m a bit of a strange student because I’m 32 years old!
Can you explain your background ?
I studied economics for my undergraduate degree and then management for my master’s degree. After I graduated I found myself in the engineering field professionally and out of personal interest. Although I enjoyed my employment for the most part, a lot of the companies and projects that I wanted to be part of the management team wanted people with engineering degrees and my work experience was not sufficient. Since I had considered engineering school before, and lamented missing the opportunity to attend, I decided to join polytech and accomplish another goal at the same time: learn French!
What do you study in Polytech Montpellier ?
Microelectronics Engineering.
Do you have a message for future international students ?
I think it’s easy for anyone at any point in their life to feel like they are doing something because they have to and not because they want to. I strongly recommend taking an hour before making any big life change (such as studying abroad) to do nothing besides thinking and writing about what you want to do and why you want to do it. Then spend 5 minutes everyday thinking about how you want to spend your time. The result for me has been remembering that I thought about all the millions of ways I could spend my days and that I worked hard so I was able to choose to study in the beautiful South of France! Some of the longer days and moments studying for tests are so much more enjoyable and I am able to treat them more like going to a movie or meeting my friends to play volleyball. Good luck!
