Department of Engineering - Meet Sydney

Sydney ’26 wanted to find a course of study that intersected math and science. She got more than she bargained for when she declared a mechanical engineering major. She found a home.

The junior from Sherwood, Ore., credits the department’s summer program in Germany with kickstarting her passion for the discipline. “The program gave me some of my best friends at Hope. It was super unique and special to get to spend so much time with the same small cohort of people, taking a course together and exploring Germany with our professors,” she explained. “It has been my favorite part of college.”

Sydney greatly appreciates the practical applications of her coursework and she recognizes that her classes will more than prepare her for graduation next spring. “The department balances the challenges of engineering with the fun parts of the discipline,” she said. “This makes it exciting to learn and lets you picture what it would be like to be an engineer.”

Sydney has intentionally expanded her learning experience by working for the department. “I work as a help session leader,” she shared. “I help students as they work through their homework and other course material. Currently, I’m leading the engineering computing course. I love doing this.”

Sydney, who plans on working in industry upon graduation, is thankful for the department’s donors. In fact, she credits the generosity of donors like you with her classmates’ ability to travel to Germany for the summer session. “Thank you for blessing me and others with the resources to learn more about the world and how we can make a difference as engineers,” she said.

She hopes that her peers see the generosity of Hope’s donors and are inspired to give back when they can, thereby creating these transformative opportunities for generations of engineering students to come.

Your gift to Hope’s Department of Engineering will encourage students like Sydney to succeed in the classroom. Will you make this possible today?