Annie Le
Graduate student in electrical engineering
What are you studying at UT Dallas?
Electrical engineering with a concentration in communications and signal processing. With my MSEE and this specialty, I could be a wireless engineer (think Nokia or Motorola), a network engineer (Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks), an RF engineer (Ericsson) or a digital signal processor engineer (Texas Instruments).
What’s great about studying here?
The multicultural atmosphere. I’m from Saigon, and it’s comforting to me that so many students are either immigrants or international students like me. People are more willing to accept that people are different here.
What do you hope to do after graduation?
I don’t know. There are so many options to choose from, and they could lead me to very different paths in life. I could get a job and be an engineer till eternity, or be an engineer for a while, get an MBA and start climbing the corporate ladder as a manager. Or go to law school – intellectual property lawyers with a background in electrical engineering are in very high demand at the moment, and it’s a lucrative career. Or I could go on for a Ph.D. When I was 19, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. Now, at 25, what I’ve learned is “never say never.” Life is full of possibility, and I don’t want to miss any of it.
What’s been hardest so far?
My master’s thesis, and how to get a full-time job as an international student.
What’s been the most fun?
Restarting the student branch of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) with some good friends of mine. That’s my best memory of college.
What do you like most about student life at UTD?
The support of the engineering school administrative offices for student involvement in school business and student life. They would like us to take charge, and they fully support any ideas the student clubs put forward.
