Grace Snider, a senior studying computer science and engineering technology, never takes “No” for an answer.
So when her dreams of being an engineer hit a roadblock when she applied to The University of Toledo College of Engineering, she found another path forward: The GEARSET program.
Grace Snider said the College of Engineering’s integrated co-op program, one of eight in the nation, is what drew her to UToledo.
“I applied to the University to be an engineer but due to testing scores I did not get accepted into the College of Engineering; however, I did have high enough scores to enter the University’s GEARSET program,” Snider said.
The Greater Equity, Access and Readiness for Success in Engineering and Technology (GEARSET) program is in place to help students who didn’t make it into the College of Engineering right away but have parameters that will allow them to fast-track to success as an engineer.
GEARSET creates an alternative pathway to a bachelor’s degree in engineering for first-year students who did not meet major-specific admission requirements within the College of Engineering.
Among the program’s admission criteria requirements, students must test into trigonometry and have a minimum high school grade point average of 3.0. Students also meet regularly with engineering advisors and enroll in courses designed to introduce engineering principles, applications of mathematics in engineering and professional development, in addition to other classes needed to meet the College of Engineering’s transfer requirements for their desired major.
“GEARSET was a great opportunity for me to achieve a degree in engineering even though I wasn’t directly accepted into engineering,” Snider said. “It allows students who didn’t directly make it into the college of engineering to prepare for admittance into the College of Engineering a semester after you start school. This was a super important experience during my time at UToledo because, instead of potentially adding multiple semesters to my degree, I was able to jump right into an engineering degree my second semester.”
Snider
“Grace came into our program in its first year and is now going to be graduating this fall with an engineering degree along with 18 of her fellow GEARSET students,” said Bryan Bosch, manager of engineering diversity, inclusion and community engagement, whom Snider credits as having the most influence on her experience as a Rocket.
“She is not only an example of what the GEARSET program can offer, she’s a shining example of a #Rocketengineer in general.”
The 19 students are part of a 58% graduation rate among those who started in the program, which is above the national average for students directly admitted to their majors and a goal that Bosch and Dr. Lesley Berhan, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, and associate dean for diversity, inclusion and community engagement in the College of Engineering, had when creating GEARSET.
“It’s a testament to Grace’s work ethic and desire to be an engineer that she has gotten this far, and this program has been built to support and grow those traits in students, Bosch said. “We value those traits far more than what a test taken on one Saturday morning may tell us, and that has shown to bear significant fruit with GEARSET.”
The College of Engineering’s integrated co-op program, one of eight in the nation, is what really drew Snider to UToledo, she said. And through her success as a student, she’s on a career path she never imagined.
“The biggest experience I will take away from my time at UT is the opportunity I have had to work at Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant,” Snider said. “I would have never imagined getting to experience my degree in the power industry let alone the nuclear energy side. I have been with Davis-Besse for about 16 months with two full-time co-ops and then part-time co-ops for the past year.
“I have been able to apply some of what I have learned into the work that I do while also being able to completely step out of my degree field to help other departments in the previous refueling outage at the plant,” she added. “I am planning to stay in the power industry and am completing a fourth co-op with Davis Besse. I have had some amazing opportunities with them, and every co-op rotation has offered me a new learning experience.”
