Jay Lin
“My previous full time jobs dealt with computational and analytical work, which was interesting, but woodworking made me realize how much I truly enjoyed the hands-on experience and want the analytical and experimental balance of mechanical engineering. That’s why I came here.” Jay is a MEng ’19 (ME) alumni interested in modeling, simulation, and woodworking.
Paula Carlosena
“My old boss in Argentina always used to say to me: ‘You don’t have to stay in a box or stay quiet. Don’t wait for things to happen, always keep moving.’” Paula is a MEng ’19 (CEE) alumni and was a Career Rep with the Fung Institute for the 2018–19 year. Outside of academics, Paula enjoys playing tennis and exploring the bay area. Paula loves challenges and sees herself taking up a leadership role in construction after the MEng program.
Mason Friedberg
“It’s kind of cliche, but honestly, the best piece of advice I’ve gotten is to not focus on what you can’t do, but what you can.” Mason is a MEng ’19 (ME) alumni and was a Career Rep with the Fung Institute. Mason worked on a Capstone project to use unmanned robots for disaster rescue, and is motivated by his will to solve global problems. Outside of academics, Mason is a fan of cars and motorcycles — his dream car is a 1967 Jaguar E-type.
Prithiv Natarajan
“The best piece of advice I’ve gotten is from Professor Kenneth Marshall: If you can identify the problem, you can manage it. Recognition is the first — and biggest — step of solving problems.” Prithiv is a MEng ’19 (BIOE) alumni and was a Career Rep with the Fung Institute. Outside of academics, Prithiv is also a musician, playing a range of instruments including the drums, piano, and guitar. As an artist, athlete, and engineer, he is motivated by his parents and his passion for creating a difference in the world through technology.
Kumudura Aung
“What motivates me? This answer might be kind of cheesy, but… to make younger Kumu proud. As I was packing up before coming to Berkeley, I found a few letters I had written to myself when I was younger. I had completely forgotten about them, but in one of the letters, I had written to myself ‘Remember to smile, no matter what you do.’ I put all of the letters back in a box, along with a new one I wrote, right before leaving for the airport.” Kumudura is a MEng ’19 (ME) alumni who concentrated her studies in Experiential Advanced Controls Systems Design.
Aditi Ghosh
“Aside from school, I volunteer at local middle schools to help 7th grade students with their science projects. My favorite part about it is seeing kids realize that science is cool!” Aditi is an MEng ’19 (EECS) alumni who concentrated her studies in Data Science. Aspiring to stay in the intersection of tech and business, Aditi recently completed work on a Capstone project about scalable machine learning and wants to eventually wants to pursue entrepreneurship to create a social impact.
Sherwin Lau
“As an engineer in a fast paced company, I often have to work with people on different teams with very different backgrounds. Thus, it is so important that ideas are communicated in a clear fashion to minimize problems and get work done as efficiently as possible.” Sherwin is a MEng ’19 (ME) alumni who is currently working at GM Cruise, an autonomous car company, as a vehicle engineer. As someone interested in cars and motorcycles since childhood, Sherwin says that having a job at the forefront of automotive technology is his dream come true.
Shweta Kotkar
“Be open to possibilities and change — Keep your doors open!” Shweta is a MEng ’19 (BIOE) alumni. Her interest in the field stems from her family of doctors in India; she hopes to use the rapidly developing tech scene along with the diverse opportunities in the United States in order to bridge the gap between doctors and engineers. Most importantly, Shweta hopes that her work in engineering will create real social impact. Follow our Facebook and Instagram for more Humans of Fung stories!Humans of Fung: Stories from the MEng Class of 2019 was originally published in Berkeley Master of Engineering on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.