My name is Julian Riley and I am currently studying mechanical Engineering. I came across this field of study through my experiences building and doing projects as a kid. I loved to play with Legos and then started playing with robotics and coding which led me to the discover of Engineering. From here I began to see what I would like to do long term and came upon the field of Mechanical engineering, because I want to work with animatronics. If I could do it again I would choose the same path but I would also like to minor in music production if that was available.
I chose to do this summer abroad program because I am interested in building and designing my own animatronic ideas and hopefully my own product. Taking both Design Thinking and Engineering Design class would contribute good skills and ways of thinking to the design process.
Im most excited about touring the canals and taking lots of pictures throughout my stay at Amsterdam. I am also very excited to go to the Van Gogh Museum as well. When exploring a city, I am much more of the archeologist. I love to find small local happenings and enjoy those; however, I do enjoy travelling with an architect because having some structure can be very helpful.
It was really cool to meet the university of Amsterdam students, I was surprised somewhat by how well everyone spoke English, and by how welcoming and open they were to having us in their class and working with us.