Josh, a Brown University senior in mechanical engineering, praises the school's open curriculum that let him study everything from Egyptology to hieroglyphs alongside engineering. He's joining American Airlines after graduation and eventually wants to be a professor. He tells Japanese high school students to choose Brown for its academic freedom and supportive community.
Chapters
Hello, Josh.
Please introduce yourself.
Hi, my name is Josh. I'm originally from Rhode Island. I'm a senior at Brown and I study mechanical engineering.
Oh, so you graduate this year?
Yep. Yeah, in May.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
What do you like about Brown University?
Um, I think Brown's pretty great because you just have flexibility to study all of this stuff and kind of explore different things. Um, there's this thing called the open curriculum where basically rather than kind of having like requirements and classes you have to take, as long as you like choose a major and take enough classes, you can kind of do whatever you want. So I do engineering, which has a lot of classes, uh, but I also have been able to take like Egyptology classes, archaeology, and political science and all really cool stuff. So that's been super fun. Plus the people here are great, like everybody's just really friendly and kind, and I've met so many good friends.
Okay, cool. And what do you hate about Brown University, man, if anything?
The thing is, okay, I'm a senior, so I'm about to graduate, so I'm just in like pure nostalgia mode where like I can't feel anything bad about this place. Okay, so honestly, I don't have anything good.
Oh, okay.
I don't know, maybe I wish it was longer than 4 years.
Let's spend another year here. That's great. Okay. Then what do you like about yourself?
What do I like about myself? Oh, that's tough. I don't know, I think during college I've gotten good at not being afraid of like trying new stuff and doing new things. So like this semester I randomly took a class on ancient Egyptian where we learned to read like hieroglyphs and like ancient Egyptian texts and stuff, and that's something I think I never would have done when I got here. But you know, you just get to like go and do cool cool stuff. And I, I don't know, I feel like that's something I've grown a lot of as I've been here. It's like just not being afraid to try new things.
Oh cool, okay, thanks. And do you have any dream after graduation or like big dreams for your life?
Yeah, so I've always wanted to go work at an airline kind of doing optimization work or stuff because I think how airlines work and like all of that is just very interesting. So that's actually what I'm going to do after graduation. But long term, I think I probably want to be a professor of of some sort, probably something in engineering. That would probably be the dream, but long way before we get there.
Okay, thanks. And do you have any message to Japanese young people, like high school students?
I think Brown is a really great place for, you know, you can just do anything you want and meet great people. And, you know, I think for anybody, you know, if you have all of— if you want to learn everything at the same time, I mean, there's really no better place to do it than Brown. So I'd say come.
Okay, thank you very much.
Sure. I don't know, it's kind of something I like about Brown is that like we are in like final exams right now, but regardless people are still sitting outside like I was and kind of hang out with their friends and playing, you know, volleyball or whatever. So it's a school where people don't take themselves too seriously, and I think I think that's really good.
Yeah, so cool.
But yes, it is quite nice. Plus again, the weather is just like, you can't beat it.
Like, how was your 4 years in Brown University?
It was pretty good. I mean, COVID was right in the middle, so there was a year and a half that was kind of, kind of sad because we were either here, you know, we were either home or we were here but not really doing that much. But overall, I mean, it's been fun. It's just, you know, I've met so many like great friends, you know, have made everything a blast. It's just been great. I mean, I don't know, I think, you know, obviously at the end of anything in your life you kind of get very nostalgic towards it, uh, but this in particular I think is, uh, is very much that. Just because, I don't know, I've, I've had a lot of fun in college and it's just weird to think about it coming to an end. It's been good. Quiet Green, also pretty out here in the spring. What else do you want to see? I mean, we can kind of— there's another quad down that way.
Oh, okay. Are they like taking like photos?
Yeah, from for graduation. Yeah. Oh, okay. People in their caps. I gotta do that eventually, but I'm still trying to get through my finals.
So I haven't. Oh, okay. So after final, you will take it?
Yeah, something like that, once I get everything done. Okay.
So like, your final is tough? Like, final exams are tough for you?
Um, actually mine aren't that bad this semester, uh, because I'm a senior, so largely it's not super crazy. Ah, okay. So I'm mostly done. I just have a couple projects I gotta wrap up, but I've got to A lot of my stuff this semester has been pretty hands-on and different stuff, which is great. That's why I like engineering.
Okay, like, so, oh, so what's your next career after graduation?
Oh, what I'm doing next? Yep. Um, so I'm moving to Texas, um, to Dallas to go work for American Airlines.
Oh, okay.
So I'm gonna do all sorts of exciting analysis stuff out there.
I'm pretty excited. Have you imagined that career before you enter Brown University?
It's a good question. Sort of. I think it's something I've always thought would be interesting but wasn't quite sure how to do it or whether I'd really want to until after I got here. So sort of, but I think, you know, being here, you know, really kind of helps you flesh out exactly how to do that. Careful with the stairs. But, you know, it helps you figure out how you're going to do it. Yeah, no, it's fun. I mean, you know, I, I, I like giving tours. I like showing people around. And my, my last tour was yesterday.
Oh really?
Graduate. So kind of fun. This is almost like one more, you know, semi-tour, uh, sort of a little different, but, uh, okay, okay.
Thank you very much and good luck on your, like, thank you, life after graduation.
You too.
Thank you very much.
