Hi! My name is Haley Santarelli, and I am a third-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 classes have been Calculus 3 with Professor Michalak and Engineering Statics with Professor Zaurin. Despite both these classes being quite a lot of work, I learned substantial amounts of content in both…content that has now set me up to excel in my upcoming classes. 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. Last year I worked as a GEMS mentor for incoming students, I loved the program so much that I applied to become the Lead GEMS Mentor…which is now my current position! 

My biggest piece of advice for incoming STEM students is that your path is not always linear and will be unique to you. 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. The biggest lesson you’ll learn as a STEM major is persistence. Some hobbies of mine I pursue outside of my academics include theatre, music, painting, crafting, going to the gym, and just hanging out with friends. I can’t wait to meet you all!