Hi! My name is Hope “Woodie” Wood. I went to Melbourne High School, and I’m from Melbourne, FL. I’m a 2nd-year Mechanical Engineering major. My favorite class was Calculus 1 with the wonderful Hanna Reed! Calculus is not an easy class, but Professor Reed is so kind and willing to help with every question you may have. She is very welcoming and expects the very best of every student and helps them achieve that expectation. I decided to join GEMS because I knew it would be important to have a support system of women when entering such a male-dominated field, even if I didn’t think I needed it. I thought I’d be unaffected by the number of men in the STEM fields, but it took me by surprise, and having GEMS to fall back on was super important. My only expectations for my mentees and fellow mentors are that we make sure everyone has fun. At some times, it may seem procedural or almost like homework, but ultimately, GEMS brought me my current friend group, which I wouldn’t have made it through my first year without. We would do weekend outings like going and making pottery, going to Portillos, and going to events around campus (including GEMS events!). I ended up looking forward to just yapping and complaining with my GEMS group once a week to get away from the stress of my workload. For incoming EXCEL students, my words of wisdom are GO TO STEM SEMINAR!! It is tempting to skip altogether but at least go and do other work while you lend half an ear to whoever is speaking. There were plenty of days when I thought a speaker’s topic didn’t apply to me, but I went anyway and ended up finding it extremely interesting, or at least gained insightful knowledge about school, job opportunities, or even things about my personal life. Almost every time, I went home with something that made me a better person and student.  

I am also very lucky that I only live an hour from home, so pretty frequently I’d go home, spend time with my family (namely my 3-year-old nephew, Alex), do free laundry, hang out with my friends from high school, and volunteer with my high school band at football games to assist the percussion section. In the future, I plan to take music classes on the side to keep up my passion, join music clubs, and practice my marimba at home.