"The student community here at UBC is super collaborative and people are always very helpful."
Caitlyn Molander
- Degree: Bachelor of Applied Science
- Program:
- Campus: Vancouver
When did you first become interested in engineering?
Honestly, I didn’t know a lot about what engineering was in high school.
I was always interested in math and physics, and I won a scholarship to attend a UBC program to learn more about STEM.
I found it interesting, and my dad also suggested I consider engineering because of my interest in working on cars.
Why did you choose UBC?
My original plan was BCIT, but I couldn’t apply there until I had grades for all my courses. I thought I might as well apply to UBC through their early admissions route and then decide if I still wanted to pursue BCIT. I got in with early admission, and knowing that UBC is a really good school it seemed like a good path to pursue.
I also liked the fact that at UBC I had the option of going into general first year and having many different options, while at BCIT you have to choose the specialty you want to study right away.
How did you choose mechanical engineering?
Mechanical engineering was always in the back of my mind. I’d thought about civil engineering or chemical and biological engineering, but in first year I realized that I didn’t like chemistry as much as I thought I had in high school! And taking APSC 101 showed me what I was and wasn’t interested in.
I really liked working on the design of the mechanical claw in first year and that led me into thinking I’d enjoy mechanical engineering.
Tell us about your work on Formula UBC Racing.
I’m on the Formula UBC Racing design team. As a member of the powertrain team we take a stock engine and modify all the systems around it, like the fuel, oil and air intake, to try to optimize it and deliver the most horsepower possible for competition.
I really love being part of the team. When you’re in school you don’t necessarily have a lot of hands-on experience.
But on my
design team we do a one-year design cycle, so you get to design a part, build it, test it and then see it in the car at the end of the year and in competition. I’ve been able to apply a lot of the skills I’ve learned on the design team to my co-op position.
Where did you work for co-op?
I had a manufacturing co-op position with Dometic, which is one of the biggest manufacturing facilities in Richmond. I worked with their machinists, designing factory layouts and talking with them about where a machine would work best and the orientation that they would need. I was also able to do some design work to improve machine processing. Doing this co-op was a big shift for me and a good introduction to workplace environments.
Do you have any goals you’d like to accomplish as a student?
In mechanical engineering and in co-op I definitely want to try as many different things as I can to see what I enjoy doing. There are many different paths you can go in, and I’d also like to get a co-op position outside of Canada.
