Jesus Rodriguez is a junior working towards a bachelor of science degree while majoring in pre-engineering, but will declare mechanical engineering when it is applicable for him at West Texas A&M University. Rodriguez is from Amarillo and is working toward a career that he truly has a desire for.

Rodriguez’s passion for mechanical engineering began at a young age when he was initially introduced to Hot Wheels.

“What led me to be an engineer has to go back to when I was younger,” Rodriguez said. “I used to play with a lot of Hot Wheels, and I didn’t know that there could be a passion where I was the person who’s responsible for designing the cars or responsible for designing an engine that’s capable enough to provide enough horsepower at a small cost toward the production of the engine.”

Rodriguez plans to pursue an occupation where he will design M sport vehicles for the world’s fourteenth-largest producer of motor vehicles, BMW. M sport vehicles are simply the badge that BMW occupies to characterize their high-performing vehicles. These vehicles have the potential to become competition automobiles for racing.

“Mechanical engineers can impact people in several ways,” Rodriguez said. “For instance, one state— California, by 2035 they’re going to ban all new sales in combustible engines, meaning that anything that’s using petroleum, gasoline or diesel engines, any cars like those will stop selling. As a mechanic, I’m going to try to hopefully provide a different type of car, a hybrid, using a battery-powered combustion engine with a small displacement that, for several years, still can provide the same amount of horsepower from when it was first made.”

Considering advancements in technology and areas of the world wanting to be more economically friendly, mechanics producing electric cars at a more affordable rate or even designing hybridized vehicles that would be permissible in California provides people with options when choosing an automobile.

“My favorite thing about being a mechanical engineer major is meeting other people in the major because they have similar ambitions,” Rodriguez said. “It’s cool because some of my classmates will eventually work in aerospace and could be at NASA while I’m taking the other route and working on ground vehicles. Either way, engineering majors must enjoy pulling all-nighters, especially with the difficult math classes.”

Although Rodriguez grew up in a WT environment, attending WT wasn’t his first choice.

“It [WT] was my last option,” Rodriguez said. “Growing up in Amarillo, I always wanted to move out and go out of state, but my family members influenced me to stay close to home. Overall, I like it so far.”

Unfortunately, engineering majors have difficulty finding opportunities at WT for internships, work experience, finding a mentor or networking.

“You really have to put yourself out there if you’re an engineering major,” Rodriguez said. “Even going to the job fairs on campus doesn’t help a lot. Currently, I am working at a mechanic shop to get experience in automotive, but the only person who helped me is my girlfriend, Olie Ghosh. She’s the one who helped me get my job because she encouraged me to talk to other different shops to see who would take me in to learn more about engines and different versions of models. I’m very thankful that my boss gave me a chance.”

Rodriguez wants anyone interested in pursuing an engineering degree to know it’s a challenging path, but it is achievable.

“To anybody that is wanting to pursue an engineering degree, you’ll realize you start out with a lot of classmates in your freshman classes, but by the time graduation happens, very few students are actually graduating with an engineering degree,” Rodriguez said.

Aside from academics, Rodriguez is part of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, is a community advisor in Jones halls, enjoys going to car meets and likes to spend time with his girlfriend by going to the movies when they find free time.

Rodriguez believes you should never let fear get in the way.

“Don’t be afraid,” Rodriguez said. “Whatever happens, happens. If you fail a class, it was meant to be and will become part of history. It’s really simple, but when you graduate college, you’ll look back and realize it wasn’t that stressful. Now, you’ll go to other endeavors that seem much bigger than life.”