My Story

I created this blog because it is a requirement for an enterprise module in which I am currently enrolled. The module is ENT3976 – Personal Brand Management, where we are taught digital skills, social media management, and brand promotion. Each week for the next six weeks, I will be required to blog about a certain topic, starting with my personal bio. My about me post is a bit different than I anticipate will be required – it is MUCH longer than the required 250 word minimum although I do hope at least a few people take the time to read it. I do not anticipate having a huge following on this blog, so who knows what my plans are for it once the class concludes.

I was born in Dearborn, Michigan on March 6th, 1993. Whenever I wasn’t with my parents in Dearborn Heights, I was with my grandparents in Dearborn. Before I can even remember, my grandfather exposed me to my first STEM based interest – trains. Grandpa had numerous train sets and whenever he babysat me, I was fascinated by the trains as they whisked around the track. I began reading train books from the local library as my reading skills developed. Whenever my family saw a train approaching as we crossed train tracks, we had to stop and watch the train go by.

One of my grandfather’s many model trains

As my interest in trains peaked, I discovered LEGOs. My cousin and neighborhood friends all had giant tubs filled with LEGOs and we would sit there and build whatever we imagined. I would receive a set for Christmas or my birthday, build it, and a few weeks later I would tear it down and build something else. I would build everything from boats to cars to planes to space ships and, of course, trains.

Even today, I will still smile even when I hear a train whistle, but sometime around fourth grade, my interest in trains evolved into an interest in roller coasters. The train books turned into websites about roller coasters and theme parks. The LEGOs, while still in use, made way for K’nex roller coasters. I would spend hours after school looking up different amusement parks, reading about different rides, and trying to build bigger and crazier rides out of K’nex. I would always bring up nearby amusement parks to visit whenever my parents began discussing possible vacations. My fanaticism lasted throughout high school as I joined various message boards and attended park events, learning new things and meeting new faces all along the way.

Goliath at Six Flags Great America – my favorite roller coaster

As interested in roller coasters as I was, LEGOs were still very much a part of my life. I joined my middle school’s LEGO robotics team, which was ultimately a massive catalyst for who I am today. The team had never attended the state tournament prior to my participation. The game during my first year was Mission Mars. We had a total of four students – one builder, one programmer, one researcher, and one marketing student. I conducted an entire research project on creating a biosphere on Mars utilizing fractal technology to build, repair, and expand itself. The research project won us a ticket to the state tournament. I became a more influential member the following year – the team was bigger and I was able to build and program. We were able to create a LEGO robot capable enough to win us a state tournament berth. I was essentially running the show in seventh and eighth grade. I built the entire field and robot and I did all the programming. The rest of the team either acted as my apprentices or compiled extensive research and marketing projects. As expected, we went to states both years. Attending the state tournament every year I participated and more importantly, my emergence as a leader in a STEM based activity, directed me down a path filled with science and engineering.

I began attending Brother Rice High School in 2007 where I was constantly challenged. I did not know a single person entering the school with me and so I had to meet a lot of people in a short amount of time. I also received homework, which was essentially non-existent in middle school, and I also had to learn how to properly study. Despite the challenges, my experiences at Brother Rice were out of this world. I was able to learn at a pace more suited for me. The subject matter was unique with regard to the way the school taught theology – one aspect that I feel gives me a slight edge over others. I was also surrounded by wonderful, respectful, intelligent, and experienced students and teachers. Students properly greeted each other and said please and thank you. Teachers allowed for glimpses into their lives, took time to get to know their students, and made themselves available to help whenever possible. The community, tradition, and brotherhood at Brother Rice allowed my high school years to be four incredible years.

Upon hearing an announcement for the robotics team’s upcoming meeting, I decided that I would fit right in due to to my previous experience in LEGO robotics. I had to transition from running the show in middle school to taking a back seat during my freshman year of high school. My ideas, although heard, were not valued and due to my inexperience with the big robots and so I was unable to be a leader. I joined the bowling team to occupy myself while I continued to gain experience in robotics (I ultimately earned three varsity awards for bowling, not receiving the fourth due to dedicating all my free time to robotics my senior year). I was finally able to emerge as a leader during my junior year on the robotics team. That year, we had a close knit team and had a very successful fall season. Our success carried into the spring season when we designed a simple robot and completed it an entire week before the stop build date. Our excess practice time showed at our first competition. We ended the first day of competition seeded first and were clearly one of the most offensive robots at the event. Although we seeded second at the conclusion of qualification matches, we proceeded to win the tournament. Everybody felt like rock stars for the rest of the weekend and into Monday, where we all proudly wore our medals at school. I knew that I wanted the experience of winning again (everyone did), and so we continued to compete to our highest levels. Although we did not win another competition, we continued to excel and earned a slot at the world championship in Atlanta, GA.

Me celebrating after Team 573’s victory by wrapping the banner around myself

My experience in robotics during my senior year was similar to my junior year. I was surrounded by a group of dedicated, brilliant students who were all attempting to achieve the same goal – be the best we can be. We did not win, but the experiences and knowledge that was earned instead more than made up for any losses throughout our attended competitions. Robotics allowed me to develop deep rooted friendships with many who were as passionate as me. Robotics also strengthened my interests in engineering by exposing that engineering is more than just work – there is incredible reward by creating something, even if it isn’t the most successful something (This blog post goes more in depth with how I benefited from robotics: http://www.ellencavanaugh.com/2014/10/09/the-incredible-benefits-of-mentoring-first-robotics/).

In addition to robotics, I was also enrolled in two engineering courses while at Brother Rice. The first was intro to engineering design, where I learned CAD and other engineering tools. Advanced engineering followed intro to engineering design, involving a year long project where students completely design and fabricate an agreed upon device. Our task was to design and fabricate an unmanned submersible and although it was an unsuccessful project, we were able to learn numerous project based skills.

I chose to attend college at Michigan Technological University – a school where I knew I would receive a great education and also enjoy winter activities, like skiing and hockey. Meeting new people at Tech proved to be much less challenging than at Brother Rice, and soon enough I was interacting and studying with people from all over the mid-west. Learning how to study in high school proved to be a huge advantage my freshman year – many commented on my work ethic and my grades revealed positive results.

Despite my sustainable grades, I did not end up landing an internship during the summer of 2012. Instead, I found a job at Greenfield Village in Dearborn. I was a historic operating machinery specialist – it was my job to maintain repair many of the working artifacts around the village and museum. I was exposed to a wealth of incredible machinery, including the Allegheny locomotive, DC3, Corliss steam engine, and the carousel. I could observe tried and true mechanical solutions from a point in time where these solutions were actually the cutting edge of technology. I also had free reign to explore the rest of the village and museum, soaking as much history and as many stories as I possibly could. Looking back, it was an incredible, unique experience that set me apart from others.

Helping the engineers put away the Torch Lake locomotive after work at Greenfield Village. Ironically, this locomotive originally operated in the Keweenaw Peninsula, right by Michigan Tech.

Sophomore year put me to the test and that winter semester proved to be the toughest semester of my college career. Although I received lower grades than the previous year, I managed to secure an internship at Bosch Automotive in Farmington, Michigan. I essentially worked as a technician for validating pre-production and production master cylinders. My first exposure to a proper engineering setting allowed me to travel to various facilities for part delivery, sitting in meetings and conference calls, and also getting hands on with parts. My experience with LEGOs, building competition robots, and machining allowed me to build prototypes with ease. Once again, I returned to school after a fantastic summer experience and a wealth of real world knowledge under my belt.

Junior year of college began to throw proper engineering projects in my direction. One of these projects involved designing a competitive robot that utilized linkages. Our objectives were to perform a kinematic analysis and stress analysis on the linkage system utilizing a MATLAB code. Instead of drawing something on a whiteboard and cutting metal, I was properly designing something that I was passionate about. Another project involved properly employing the engineering process from project proposal to final design for an unmanned avalanche rescue vehicle. Once again, I was able to properly apply skills learned for something within my interests.

I accepted an internship at Cequent Performance Products – a company that engineers OEM and aftermarket products for towing applications. I spent my summer taking various projects throughout various portions of the Advanced Product Quality Planning process in addition to drawing and analyzing parts and assemblies in SolidWorks, creating drawings with proper geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, and fabricating my own prototypes. I always listened and absorbed as much advice and knowledge as I could from other engineers and colleagues. I also had some opportunities to teach the other engineers and make suggestions or corrections on their designs. I already had a great resume prior to my summer at CPP, but my brief time there bolstered my resume to the point where I was a shoe in for a full time position.

A keepsake I made of the Brother Rice warrior head at CPP prior to leaving. It was designed using SolidWorks and cut on a CNC plasma torch.

My passion for roller coasters did not wane throughout high school and college, but it did evolve. Instead of trying to ride every ride or decide which was the best, I viewed my passion for thrill rides as a means to visit new places, spend time with friends and family, and appreciate the engineering involved in roller coaster design. I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation to a networking event ran by a company called Great Coasters International – a company specializing in the design and fabrication of butter-smooth wooden roller coasters. I spent two days in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, where I could peek into the world of roller coaster design, fabrication, and operation. I was shocked to learn that wooden roller coaster design is much more primitive than one would think – carpenters and engineers utilized straight lines and arcs up until the 90s, when they started to introduce parabolas, ellipses, and other exotic shapes into designs (resulting in the ultra smooth rides that GCI is known for). The event also involved a tour of a local amusement park, Knoebels. We had the opportunity to speak to the engineer responsible for their newest ride, Flying Turns. He spoke about the chassis of the train, the structure of the ride, the control system behind the ride, and the many challenges he faced with the one of a kind design. The entire experience allowed me to appreciate my hobbies, career path, education, and passions even more.

The incredible Flying Turns roller coaster at Knoebel’s Amusement Park. The ride was designed and built in house, although Great Coasters International provided consulting during the latter years of construction.

In November of that same year, I received a phone call from the head engineer at GCI offering me an internship. After weighing my options, I decided to turn down the offer and accept an offer for a full time position at Ford Motor Company instead. Although my door into the amusement industry was open, I ultimately decided that I could better utilize my skills in a full time position instead. Fortunately, the television show Top Gear gave me an incredible appreciation for cars and the engineering behind them.

I participated in more projects during my final year at Michigan Tech. One project involved designing a space mission. My group designed a satellite that would test the feasibility of growing plants in an orbiting, artificial gravity environment. The project (and intro to aerospace engineering class itself) reminded me of the space ships I built with LEGOs as a kid and rekindled my interest in space. My senior design project is to design and fabricate pilot anaerobic digestion units with the hope of promoting sustainability on campus, re-purposing dining hall food waste, and cutting energy costs.

My class’ graduation ceremony is scheduled for May 2nd. I begin the next chapter of my life with Ford Motor Company as a product development engineer on June 8th. Although I did not mention these hobbies in this post, I have been an avid skier and enjoy photography (all of the photos in this post are self taken) and I will continue to enjoy these hobbies as long as I am alive (or able to ski). I still build with my LEGOs from time to time and I try my best to stay involved with robotics. I hope to return to my old team as a mentor following graduation. I have had many incredible experiences throughout my life so far and I will surely continue to have fantastic experiences; whether engineering, robotics, LEGO, roller coaster, or train related.