ONE STEP AT A TIME RANDY DEINLEIN ’19

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING HOMETOWN: White Marsh, Maryland Back to School

At 27, Randy found himself standing in the parking lot of the Community College of Baltimore County, about to go back to school for the first time in years, and he was nervous.

“I hadn’t been there [CCBC] since high school. I almost went home,” he says. “But I decided, ‘I’ll just see how today goes.’”

Randy, an Air Force veteran ready to build a new career, saw this as a chance to get a feel for college, but it turned out to be the beginning of something much bigger. Not only did he stay, he signed up for honors classes, earned his associate degree, and then transferred to UMBC to pursue a degree in engineering.

Engineering Change

One of the best parts of his UMBC experience, he says, is participating in the Grand Challenge, because it taps directly into one of his top priorities: figuring out ways he can make real change in the world.

The Grand Challenge is a scholars program at UMBC that focuses on tackling some of society’s greatest needs, like reverse engineering the brain or restructuring our cities.

“I want to find ways I, as a future engineer, can more directly solve some of the world’s issues to make the world a better place,” says Randy.

What it Takes

Randy also knows that the work of making big change means people need big support. He found friends and mentors in places like Engineers Without Borders and the Honors College. He partnered with his mentor Dr. Jamie Gurganus on a research project to evaluate the effectiveness of engineering curricula at local Baltimore schools. He even started a student veteran’s organization.

It’s all part of a greater thread of service that runs through Randy’s life. There’s no doubt that he’s come a long way from that parking lot.