Impact Award, Spring 2022

Taylor Gin

Taylor Gin says she started college unsure about what educational goals she wanted to pursue. But the community feel she got while touring Arizona State University’s Tempe campus drew her in.

She would in due course find a good fit for her ambitions, receiving the New American University Scholarship President’s Award for her academic achievements. 

“I was originally an education major, but I have always wanted to be challenged and learn new things, so I was advised to try out electrical engineering,” Gin says. “It wasn’t until my sophomore year when I took my first circuits course that I felt like this was the right path for me.”

Gin then quickly got involved with student organizations, including the Society of Women Engineers, IEEE Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi, and also served as a Fulton Ambassador. In addition, she completed two engineering internships with Intel.

“My mentor, David Pedersen, from my most recent internship with Intel, has helped me grow, not only as a student but for my future career, “ Gin says.  “He challenged me to always find ways to improve how things are done.”

Gin says her proudest accomplishment is the work she completed for her engineering capstone design project and honors thesis. Her team worked to identify Parkinson’s disease symptoms in individuals based on their voice or a finger tapping activity using machine learning.

“It has been exciting to learn about and see that there is potential for predicting this disease,” Gin says. “I have really enjoyed working at the intersection of health and engineering as well.”

Moving forward, Gin says she will be taking her talents to Intel as a design automation engineer. She says she also hopes to inspire more women to join her field.

“I found it surprising that there were so few women in my major,” Gin says, “but engineering has changed my life.”

She says the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering is a place where anyone can succeed, especially with all the support offered to students.

“My long-term career aspirations are to always have work that I find enjoyable and challenging,” Gin says. “I don’t want the learning experience to stop after graduation.”

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ Spring 2022 class here.

More exceptional graduates from Spring 2022

Kayla Teague

Kayla Teague

Outstanding Graduate

Richard Duc Thuan Khang Nguyen

Richard Duc Thuan Khang Nguyen

Outstanding Graduate

Christian Polo

Christian Polo

Impact Award

Anson Kwan

Anson Kwan

Impact Award

King Hei Ma

King Hei Ma

Outstanding Graduate

Andrew Sheehan

Andrew Sheehan

Outstanding Graduate

Caleb Redshaw

Caleb Redshaw

Outstanding Graduate

Felix Raimondo

Felix Raimondo

Outstanding Graduate

Amy Hector

Amy Hector

Outstanding Graduate

John Cody

John Cody

Outstanding Graduate

Langston Tillman

Langston Tillman

Outstanding Graduate

Kristen Jaskie

Kristen Jaskie

Palais Outstanding Doctoral Student Award

Karla Cosio

Karla Cosio

Impact Award

Abby Krell

Abby Krell

Outstanding Graduate

Jessica Dirks

Jessica Dirks

Outstanding Graduate

Devin Bowes

Devin Bowes

PhD Ceremony Speaker

Catarino Valle

Catarino Valle

Outstanding Graduate

Alexander Witthus

Alexander Witthus

Impact Award

Yasser Dbeis

Yasser Mountasir Dbeis

Convocation Speaker, Impact Award

Shannon McBreen

Shannon McBreen

Impact Award

Kamakshi Rajan

Kamakshi Rajan

Outstanding Graduate

Willem Grier

Willem Grier

Outstanding Graduate

Alexander Owen

Alexander Owen

Outstanding Graduate

Brenna Windish

Brenna Windish

Outstanding Graduate

Katrina Santos

Katrina Santos

Outstanding Graduate

Smith Pittman

Smith Pittman

Outstanding Graduate

Joseph Hale

Joseph Hale

Outstanding Graduate

Yizhou Xiao

Yizhou Xiao

Outstanding Graduate

Morgan Cividanes

Morgan Cividanes

Outstanding Graduate

Kyle Butler

Kyle A. Butler

Outstanding Graduate

Maya Muir

Maya Muir

Outstanding Graduate

Nicole Van Handel

Nikki Van Handel

Impact Award

Jordan Fourcher

Jordan Fourcher

Outstanding Graduate