F.W. Olin College of Engineering : Think Like an Engineer

It's been a good press week for my daughter's soon-to-be-alma-mater Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. There was a segment on WGBH-TV's Greater Boston profiling how much the school has achieved in just ten years. BostInno published an article: How Greater Boston’s Most Overlooked College Has Revolutionized Education. Product design collaboration between Olin students and area seniors was featured in a Boston Globe article about Engineering for Humanity. As a parent, do I like it when my daughter's school choice is validated by the larger community? Absolutely! Yet, my fondness for Olin runs much deeper.

My daughter wasn't the typical engineering student. She chose to go to engineering college despite the fact that she knew in advance she probably wouldn't work as an engineer. Her rationale was that she wanted to think like an engineer, since problem solving is needed in every profession. Through Olin and its partners Wellesley and Babson, she has had intellectually stimulating classes, inspirational professors, and most importantly, a circle of supportive friends I admire. When the world is run by young people like her classmates, I will feel extremely confident about our future.