Hi! My name is Haley Santarelli, and I am a second-year Civil Engineering major. I graduated from North Fort Myers High School, where I majored in Theatre. I know, quite the switch from attending an arts high school to pursuing engineering. That being said my favorite classes have always been math-based, and here at UCF my favorite class has been Calculus 1 with Professor Hanna Reed. She is an excellent teacher and made me not just enjoy but love the course! I took her for Calculus 2 as well and was just as pleased with her teaching style despite not loving the content of Calculus 2. I decided to get involved with GEMS after having such a positive experience during my first year in the program as a mentee. My mentor was extremely helpful to me when picking out class schedules, deciding on professors to take, and just being a friend to me while at UCF. I aim to be that same rock for future students who need one while making such a large lifestyle shift into college. My biggest piece of advice for incoming STEM students is that your path is not always linear and will be unique to yourself. Everyone comes into college with different amounts of credits and varying experiences, comparing yourself to others will only bring you disdain. You might need to take breaks from certain classes and find yourself struggling in ways you’re not used to, but the point is you keep going. Even if you feel like you’re in a plateau you never know when you’ll rise again. Some hobbies of mine I pursue outside of my academics include theatre, music, painting, crafting, and just hanging out with friends. I can’t wait to meet you all!