Ethan Curnutte

Fall 2019

Cumulative Reflection

As a freshman with almost no experience in the electrical engineering field, I was unsure
what I was really getting myself into. The very first class with Professor Mani Mina (EE 185)
was one that I thoroughly enjoyed but it was also one that pushed me to want to become an
electrical engineer. He taught us to look at problems from a different lense rather than just
looking for the answer. Through this class I learned the importance of design thinking and not
just that of problem solving. By using design thinking, I was able to grasp a lot more of the
topics covered in my class and that will be one of the biggest takeaways from all of my classes
that I have taken here at Iowa State.

During my time here at Iowa State, I have spent countless hours either in a lab trying to
figure out how to make something work, or in the TLA trying to solve math and engineering
problems. Throughout this process, I have really grown into solving problems by myself as well
as a team. The importance of being able to understand problems by yourself on a technical level
is important for retaining knowledge but also being able to communicate effectively enough with
a team is just as important. Intuition on a large amount of subjects is one of the keys to getting
through college, and using a large variety of resources to build this intuition is crucial. Whether it
be TA hours or meeting with your professor to fully grasp a concept, outside resources that are
given to you by the university is always something to remember and take full advantage of.

All of the classes that I have been through has helped me recognize the importance of
working with others on problems. This has become relevant in my senior design class, as it
requires you to work with a group of people who may have all different areas of study and
understandings of different topics. Through Iowa State I have learned to work well with teams
and it all comes down to communication. Communicating with your team members is something
that you can learn from and take with you outside of college. Already I have seen an increase in
my productivity and knowledge of topics I otherwise would not have an understanding of, if it
wasn’t for communication skills taught to me in some of my previous classes.

Having two internships the past two summers has really shown me how well I have
understood some classes and how I also lacked in some places. Going into the power industry, I
have taken a keen interest in renewable resources and how we can improve them going forward.
Thankfully there are outside clubs that are exactly what I am interested in, whether it be IEEE of
the Wind generation club. These clubs provided me with some key connections that I wouldn’t
have been able to gain but also they provided me with knowledge of different companies and
what they are expecting or want from recent graduates. Through these clubs, it has made me
 Ethan Curnutte
Fall 2019
realize that we are never done learning and that there is always something that I need to improve
on for the future.

As my time is closing here at Iowa State I am happy to say that I already have a job in the
renewable resource industry. I will be working at Blattner Energy as an Electrical Field
Construction Coordinator beginning after graduation. With this being said, I will miss Iowa State
and have some time to think about how I would do it all over again if I could, and the answer is I
would do it the exact same way. The friendships I have made through the electrical engineering
field will stay with me the rest of my life and the mistakes I made are learning lessons for me to
grow upon.