Samuel Dicaro

Samuel Dicaro knew he found a field he loves at Arizona State University when he began taking embedded systems classes in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

“It was the challenge of having to think in a real-time context,” Dicaro says. “It seemed so difficult at first, but I quickly realized I was on the right path when I saw the outcome it had on the real world. There’s nothing quite like that first blinking LED program!”

A computer systems engineering student, Dicaro was pleasantly surprised by his major, which he selected because it combined his love of electronics and software. 

“I did not know how useful it would be to have a background in both electrical engineering and computer science,” he says. “I thought the two would not relate.”

During his time at ASU, Dicaro worked as an undergraduate teaching assistant for a digital logic design class for four semesters. He has been honored with several awards and scholarships, including the New American University Scholarship at the Provost’s Award level, an ASU RaiseMe scholarship and a Tempe Diablos scholarship.

Dicaro’s education in engineering helped drive his passion for understanding global challenges and developing solutions.

“Engineering provides an elegant solution for almost all of the problems in the world,” Dicaro says. “Embedded systems have helped humans both reach the moon and turn off the light without having to get out of bed.”

Following graduation, Dicaro plans to complete the final year of his accelerated master’s degree program and then move to northern Arizona to run ultramarathons in the mountains.

“A long-term goal of mine has always been to work on something that helps people,” he says. “To me, the purpose of engineering is to provide a service to society. I hope that one day I get a chance to be a part of something that makes people’s lives better.”

Dicaro credits his experience in the Fulton Schools for helping reframe his perspective on facing difficulties.

“One lesson I’ll carry with me is that just because something seems impossible, does not mean it is,” he says.

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