Engineering Makes You Isolated?

When I first came to El Camino College, people would be able to tell me in the room due to my loud and outgoing personality that seemed to echo through the empty halls during the summer of 2023. I had two retreats during the summer, one of which was for my job in Outreach and the other was for the Associated Students Organization of El Camino College. Through both, I quickly came to realize a fact that would change my perception of El Camino for good, the lack of engineers involved in the campus community.

I’ve always considered myself a social person, going back to High School. The President of the Chess Club, the Vice President of the Math Club, Board Member of the National Honor Society, and most significantly, the Executive Officer of JROTC. People knew my name, my face, and what my personality was like. I brought this to El Camino, and soon realized that other engineering majors weren’t like this. At El Camino, the engineering department feels isolated, where very few of them join clubs and do things outside of their academics, making me feel isolated within one of the most collaborative undergraduate majors.

I mean I can’t blame them, engineering courses can be very difficult. The math, physics, chemistry, coding, and of course the actual engineering courses are all challenging to students. I have discovered that for me, working with others is the best way for me to get better at these subjects so I always wonder why they don’t try and make connections at the college we all attend.

I guess engineering makes you isolated, or at least at community college. Everyone goes home and keeps to themselves. It doesn't feel like a “college experience” which is unfortunate but at the end of the day, I’m saving money in my pursuit of higher education.