Student Leader: RWU's Interdisciplinary Engineering Program Prepared Her for Aerospace and Defense Tech Job

After graduation, Electrical Engineering major and Honors student Daniella Giannotti 鈥22 will apply the hands-on research experiences she鈥檚 had at RWU to her position as an integration and test engineer at L3Harris Technologies in North Amityville, N.Y. Giannotti will be working on space and airborne systems, testing technology and chips for the aerospace and defense technology company.
RWU Interdisciplinary Engineering Program's Career Benefits: 鈥淭he electrical courses I have taken have given me a very good basis to build off, and I like that I was able to get an interdisciplinary engineering experience. I won鈥檛 be working on a project that鈥檚 strictly electrical. There will be mechanical components. Having that background of knowing how things work is going to be really helpful. If I鈥檓 working on an airplane, understanding how an airplane works will help me understand how to test such a device. That鈥檚 one of the reasons I chose this school.鈥
Leadership Experience, Connections through Engineering Clubs: 鈥淚鈥檓 the president of the Society of Women Engineers and vice president of Engineers without Borders. Engineering is a mostly male-dominated field, and being at a small school, having a club that鈥檚 just women in engineering helps you form bonds. That was helpful for building relationships and friendships with people who aren鈥檛 in my grade or specialization. I wanted to be president of it. I love outreach and community engagement. It was really helpful for developing my leadership skills.鈥
Research with Expert Professors: 鈥淭his semester, I鈥檓 doing an independent study with Professor Akosman. We鈥檙e building a continuous wave laser. It鈥檚 one big continuous project that I鈥檓 working on and writing reports for. It鈥檚 been really cool to do a hands-on project. I鈥檓 actually applying what I learned in classes to a real-world thing. Last summer we built an ultrafast fiber laser.鈥
Giannotti is from Smithtown, N.Y.
Every May, as Commencement nears, RWU spotlights members of the graduating class. Suggestions are welcome. Email: stories@rwu.edu
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