Collection

15th Annual First-Year Engineering Experience Conference (FYEE)

Authors

Rui Li, New York University

personal development. TheVIP team also allows students to pick their interested topics to pursue and they are allowed tochange the topic of interest every semester. VIP is designed to be differentiated from studentclubs and research labs. VIPs have project deadlines as it is an undergraduate course, comparedwith the student clubs. However, there is no time limit to publish the work, compared with theresearch labs. This unique opportunity would allow students to fully explore their skill setsaccording to their own career pathways.The aim of this study is to explore the possibility of using VIP as a platform and develop alearning framework named “Parallel Tri-track” for students’ personal development. The ParallelTri-track allows the students to

Collection

15th Annual First-Year Engineering Experience Conference (FYEE)

Authors

Mohammed El Kihal, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Cassie Wallwey, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Juan David Ortega Álvarez, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; James Nathaniel Newcomer, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

aiding studentsin making informed decisions [1]. Activities like peer discussions and reflective essays can helpstudents articulate and explore their professional aspirations, fostering self-awareness andaligning their studies with their career objectives.Finally, instructors are key in modeling the significance of motivation and passion by sharingtheir professional journeys and demonstrating their enthusiasm for teaching and engineering.Such leading by example, enhanced by engaging passionate teaching assistants, underscores thevalue of dedication in both educational and professional contexts. This comprehensive approachaims to instill in FYE students an appreciation of the critical roles that motivation, drive, andpassion play in their