• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

banner logo

University of California, Berkeley Mechanical Engineering

MENUMENU
  • Prospective Students
  • Industry
  • Contact us
  • Give Now
  • About
    • From the Chair
    • Honors and Rankings
    • Visitor Information
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • 150 Years of Women in ME
    • Make a Gift
    • Contact us
  • People
    • Faculty
      • Faculty by Research Area
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Faculty Books
    • Staff
      • Administrative
      • Facilities
      • Financial
      • Information Technology
      • Student Services
      • Student Machine Shops
    • Community Spotlight
    • External Advisory Board
    • Open Positions
      • Lecturer Positions
    • Visiting Scholars
  • Undergraduate
    • Degree Requirements
    • Curriculum Flowchart
    • ME + Business
    • ME/MSE Joint Major
    • ME/NE Joint Major
    • Aerospace Engineering Minor
    • ME Minor
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
    • Simultaneous Degrees
    • Advising
      • Semesterly Advising
      • Faculty Adviser Assignments
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Forms
      • Career Planning Maps
    • Admissions
      • Applying to Engineering
      • The Application
      • Junior Transfers
      • Credit from Exams
      • Financial Resources
      • Drake Scholarship
      • Visit Us
    • ME Courses
      • Technical Electives
      • Design Electives
        • Design Course Transition
      • Tentative ME Course Schedule
      • Quantitative Science
      • Humanities & Social Sciences Courses
      • Undergrad Course Syllabi
      • ME DeCal Courses
    • Undergraduate Research
      • Credit for Research
      • Research Samples
    • Awards and Scholarships
      • Past Prize Winners
    • Student Academic Resources
      • Student Life Resources
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Program Objectives and Outcomes (ABET)
  • Graduate Programs
    • Ph.D. & D.Eng.
    • Master of Science
    • Master of Engineering
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
      • Degree Requirements
      • 5th Year Masters Program Handbook
    • Special Programs
    • Admissions
      • M.S., Ph.D., D.Eng. & CWO Application
      • MEng Application
      • 5th Year Masters Admissions
      • Application Tips
      • Fees and Financial Support
      • Readmission / Change of Major
    • Graduate Resources
      • Graduate Handbook
      • Graduate Forms
      • Prelim Exams
      • Research Areas and Major Fields
      • Major Field Advisors
      • Grant Writing
      • Grad Division Resources
      • MEGSCo
      • COE Graduate Guide
    • GSI/Reader Information
      • GSI/Reader Forms
    • Course Information
      • Tentative ME course schedule
    • Graduate Course Syllabi
  • Research
    • Research Areas and Major Fields
    • Faculty by Research Area
    • Laboratories
    • Research Centers
  • Resources
    • Student Academic Resources
    • Graduate Resources
    • Student Life Resources
      • ME Student Groups
    • Virtual Career Panel Series
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Room Reservations
    • Key Requests
    • Mail & Office Administration
    • Financial Services
    • IT Services
    • Safety Information
    • Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment Prevention
    • Faculty & Staff Resources
  • ME Shops
    • Shop Training
    • Services Provided
    • Shop Equipment
    • Student Electronics Shop
    • Shop Safety
  • Coronavirus Resources
  • News
    • Alumni Newsletter
    • Mechanical Engineering Seminars
    • Events
    • Videos
MENUMENU
  • About
    • From the Chair
    • Honors and Rankings
    • Visitor Information
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • 150 Years of Women in ME
    • Make a Gift
    • Contact us
  • People
    • Faculty
      • Faculty by Research Area
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Faculty Books
    • Staff
      • Administrative
      • Facilities
      • Financial
      • Information Technology
      • Student Services
      • Student Machine Shops
    • Community Spotlight
    • External Advisory Board
    • Open Positions
      • Lecturer Positions
    • Visiting Scholars
  • Undergraduate
    • Degree Requirements
    • Curriculum Flowchart
    • ME + Business
    • ME/MSE Joint Major
    • ME/NE Joint Major
    • Aerospace Engineering Minor
    • ME Minor
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
    • Simultaneous Degrees
    • Advising
      • Semesterly Advising
      • Faculty Adviser Assignments
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Forms
      • Career Planning Maps
    • Admissions
      • Applying to Engineering
      • The Application
      • Junior Transfers
      • Credit from Exams
      • Financial Resources
      • Drake Scholarship
      • Visit Us
    • ME Courses
      • Technical Electives
      • Design Electives
        • Design Course Transition
      • Tentative ME Course Schedule
      • Quantitative Science
      • Humanities & Social Sciences Courses
      • Undergrad Course Syllabi
      • ME DeCal Courses
    • Undergraduate Research
      • Credit for Research
      • Research Samples
    • Awards and Scholarships
      • Past Prize Winners
    • Student Academic Resources
      • Student Life Resources
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Program Objectives and Outcomes (ABET)
  • Graduate Programs
    • Ph.D. & D.Eng.
    • Master of Science
    • Master of Engineering
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
      • Degree Requirements
      • 5th Year Masters Program Handbook
    • Special Programs
    • Admissions
      • M.S., Ph.D., D.Eng. & CWO Application
      • MEng Application
      • 5th Year Masters Admissions
      • Application Tips
      • Fees and Financial Support
      • Readmission / Change of Major
    • Graduate Resources
      • Graduate Handbook
      • Graduate Forms
      • Prelim Exams
      • Research Areas and Major Fields
      • Major Field Advisors
      • Grant Writing
      • Grad Division Resources
      • MEGSCo
      • COE Graduate Guide
    • GSI/Reader Information
      • GSI/Reader Forms
    • Course Information
      • Tentative ME course schedule
    • Graduate Course Syllabi
  • Research
    • Research Areas and Major Fields
    • Faculty by Research Area
    • Laboratories
    • Research Centers
  • Resources
    • Student Academic Resources
    • Graduate Resources
    • Student Life Resources
      • ME Student Groups
    • Virtual Career Panel Series
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Room Reservations
    • Key Requests
    • Mail & Office Administration
    • Financial Services
    • IT Services
    • Safety Information
    • Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment Prevention
    • Faculty & Staff Resources
  • ME Shops
    • Shop Training
    • Services Provided
    • Shop Equipment
    • Student Electronics Shop
    • Shop Safety
  • Coronavirus Resources
  • News
    • Alumni Newsletter
    • Mechanical Engineering Seminars
    • Events
    • Videos
You are here: Home / News / ME Undergraduate Spotlight: Bryant La

ME Undergraduate Spotlight: Bryant La

 

Meet Bryant La, a third-year undergraduate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering here at UC Berkeley with a 4.0 GPA. Bryant is a first generation student and he is proud to be from Oakland. He is a valuable member of our community, serving as the president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He grew up just east of Lake Merritt and is an alum of Oakland High School (H.S.). Bryant is also part of the College Track program. He was first introduced to the practical side of engineering as a member of the volunteer organization buildOn. As a volunteer, Bryant traveled to Nepal and Haiti where he dug out foundations, tied steel rebars together, and poured cement. The goal of the project was to establish permanent schools to withstand natural disasters by replacing structures made of wood and tarp. Reflecting back on this experience, Bryant said, “As a future engineer, it does not matter how large of a difference I make, what matters most is that I make one.” He is drawn to Mechanical Engineering because the profession allows him to create solutions to problems; for Bryant, being an engineer is a gratifying way to offer a direct service to a community. 

As the son of Chinese immigrants, Bryant is a second-generation American. He acknowledges that he has succeeded at Berkeley because of his background, not in spite of it. While he did not have formal engineering opportunities in H.S., he does not see these limitations as a hurdle he needs to overcome, rather he is focused on ways he can use these experiences to his advantage. He offers some words of advice to new students:

“Compartmentalize your focus, zero in on what needs to be done, put out one fire out a time, and monotask. Do a good job at what you are currently doing, especially before you start worrying about the next thing—stress out about one thing rather than many things at once. The only high expectations you need to meet are your own, not someone else’s: rather than measuring your worth by comparing yourself to somebody else, define and live up to your own standards for success.”

Previous Post: « Berkeley ME Group Wins Best Paper Award at ASME Design Conference
Next Post: Why ‘Fire is Normal’ in California and How Communities Can Change to Cut Risks »

Primary Sidebar

  • News
  • Alumni Newsletter
  • Mechanical Engineering Seminars
  • Events Calendar
  • Videos

Upcoming Events

    No events listed.

  • Contact
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Nondiscrimination
  • UC Berkeley
  • Berkeley Engineering
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 UC Berkeley Mechanical Engineering · All Rights Reserved ·