CEPS Student Feature- Ramy Rizkalla Q&A

We sat down with 4th year Mechanical Engineering student Ramy Rizkalla to disuss his thoughts on the University of Guelph and his program.

Q: Discuss some of your extracurriculars on campus (intramurals, clubs, etc):

A: I play in the co-ed intramural soccer league and work for intramurals as a referee for soccer and spikeball. I believe intramural sports are one of the university's best extracurriculars. It’s a great way to forget about all your schoolwork and stress once a week to go out, be active, and meet new friends! Intramurals has been a great way for my friends and I to get together, compete, and play the sports we love, all in good fun. Plus, you get a cool t-shirt when you win your league.

Q: Discuss your first lecture on campus and how that went:
 

A: Starting university during COVID, all I knew was online lectures, hiding behind your turned-off camera and never unmuting my mic unless I absolutely had to. So, when the time came to return to in-person lectures, it was certainly a scary experience. My first lecture on campus was ENGG*2400 - Systems Analysis with Dr. Vale. The mission to your first lecture truly starts the night before, going on ClassFind and trying to memorize the directions so you don't get lost on campus. The next morning, I took the bus nice and early to give myself time to get to my classroom and sat in the very back with my one friend at the time, hiding away in fear. Once the class started, I sat there with a blank face, lost and confused at the material, thinking I was already behind and could not do this. Once I took a deep breath to calm down and talked to a couple of other students around me, I quickly realized everyone was in the same boat as me. We were all nervous, shy, and scared but we all worked through it together. 
 

Q: Top three favorite things about UofG (one word/ phrase answers):
A:

• The Campus
• On-Campus Food
• The Diversity of Students

Q: When did you become interested in your field?

A: Throughout my whole high school career, I never had a clear idea of what I wanted to do post-secondary. I was always good at math and physics, and being surrounded by a family of engineers helped to push me in that direction. But I still wasn’t truly interested in that field. That was until I sat down with my Grade 12 physics teacher and he talked to me about what engineering is. It is more than just complicated calculations and free-body diagrams. Engineering is understanding, problem-solving, and creating. Engineers are always needed to create new things in the world and innovate the things we already have. This field has and always will play an important role in our world. That is when I knew I wanted to become an engineer. 

Q: Did you have an A HA moment? A time when something you learned or a professor just blew you away?
 

A: My A HA moment came in my third year of university in my machine design class. Now as many Mech students know, or will soon learn, machine design is not the most fun class. But, it does come with the benefit of real life application. Our final project for the term was to make a dual-purpose wood working tool. My group elected to create a table-top saw and sander. Now, the project begins with the idea, then you have to complete all the calculations and CAD models for each part of the tool to ensure it works as according to plan. Once that was all completed, it was time to build the tool. After long hours machining and assembling, it was finally time for the final task, connecting the safety switch. Now me, with my minimal circuits knowledge, took on this task at 11pm the night before presentations. After lots of trial and error, I got the wires connected and it was time for testing. Lo and behold, the tool worked perfectly. It was amazing, experiencing my first time taking all the knowledge I've learned in classes about mechanics, forces, circuits, etc, and take this pile of scrap metal and gears to create a fully functioning wood working saw and sander.

Q: Tell me a little bit about your Co-op experience:

A: Throughout my university career, I have worked three different co-op jobs. My first two were at a large construction company called Plan Group as a designer in the Engineering & CAD Services department and the Pursuits department. My latest co-op was at a consulting firm called Internat Energy Solutions. Co-ops have played a pivotal role in figuring out my future. It has helped me try different roles in different fields of engineering to figure out what to do with my degree and even what classes I want to take during my time in school. It has also helped me in my learning as well. Both jobs have involved me taking the knowledge I have learned in class and applying it to real-life engineering applications to help show me what I'm learning is truly important and useful in the world, while still teaching me new knowledge and skills that cannot be learned in the classroom.

Q: What would do you tell future students about Guelph? What would you tell them about the field?

A: To all future students, I would like to say welcome to the University of Guelph. Your years here will be the most stressful, fun, and scary times of your life. Don't be scared to talk to the person beside you in class, or the person you pass on campus every day, as that one person may turn out to be your best friend for the years to come. The community is here to welcome you, support you, and guide you through your years here. To all future engineers, I would like to say stick through it. Being an engineer is not easy. There is a lot of work to go through, a lot of hard material to learn, and lots of pressure to do well. But through the bad times, there's always a brighter side. The field has lots to offer and great future to provide. The pain is temporary, the success is forever. 

Q: Where do you hope to be in 5 years?
 

A: In 5 years I hope to be graduated, and working in the field. I hope to be working in energy design, finding new and creative ideas to create sustainable methods of saving and recovering energy to create a better world for future generations to come. Eventually, I plan to complete a masters degree in Building Sciences, and obtain my professional engineering license, to continue my learning and specialization in the field I hope to work in.