Conferences and Club Involvement Enrich Software Engineer’s Campus Experience

Saima Teasha (’23) is an international student from Bangladesh, but she grew up with her siblings in Qatar, where her father is a pilot.

“Everybody in my family, we all know how to fly,” Teasha said. “We all have that interest because we grew up seeing our dad fly and we were in the cockpit all the time. We had that initial, ‘oh, we all want to be pilots.’”

Her brother came to Embry-Riddle first to study Aerospace Engineering. Teasha wanted to see what Embry-Riddle could offer her, and she landed on Software Engineering.

Studying Software Engineering

Teasha had originally wanted to be a pilot, but chose to change direction to Software Engineering, specifically on the Space Track.

“Since it was an aerospace school, I knew I was going to be working with rockets and or airplanes—I have an interest in both of them.”

“I’m glad I picked this school,” Teasha said, “because the software engineering program [here] is small. You get that one-on-one time with your professors and all my professors know me by name. I love the software program here.”

What Teasha likes the most about software engineering is the versatility and ability to apply it to anything, especially her ever-changing interests—from fashion trends to rocketry.

Teasha interned with Yavapai County last summer, assisting with small projects with their infrastructure and security teams.

“I did a little bit of code review, but it was mostly documenting everything, reading through the code and documenting whatever it was the code was doing, if there was something wrong with the policies or something wasn't working,” she explained. “It was a really fun experience.”

Prescott Campus Involvement

In her time at Embry-Riddle, Teasha has been involved with the Board of Campus Activities (BCA), the Eagles Space Flight Team, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Women in Aviation and the International Student Association.

Joining SHPE was a no-brainer for her; “I was already friends with everybody in [SHPE] so it felt very natural; it kind of felt like home away from home.”

She has enjoyed several of IEEE’s activities. She participated in their global 24-hour coding competition her sophomore year and recently learned how to solder circuit boards in a workshop. IEEE is unique because membership and its benefits extend beyond graduation.

Teasha is also part of the College of Engineering Advisory Board and spoke with Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) representatives when they came to campus.

“They interviewed a couple of students,” she explained. “I got to talk to them about our software program, electrical engineering and computer engineering programs.”

Advice for Incoming Students

Teasha’s biggest tip for incoming students is to get involved with clubs, mainly due to the opportunities that they can bring you, like attending conferences. She’s attended two conferences in the past two semesters and wishes she had known about the opportunities sooner.

“Especially for international students, [conferences offer an] opportunity that you’re not going to get just staying here. You need to get out there; it really sets you apart from everybody else,” she said.

She recommends attending conferences as a supplement to attending on-campus job fairs because Embry-Riddle students are more likely to stand out at national conferences.

One of her favorite things about conferences is networking.

“I’ve met so many lovely people, I’ve heard about their experiences and how they got started,” she said about her experience at conferences, like the recent WIA conference she attended.

Teasha is excited to graduate in December 2023 and eager to put her software skills to use in the workforce or graduate school.